Ted Cruz's trip notwithstanding, Texans in Congress say they've been assisting relief efforts, calling for accountability
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz drew stinging criticism for heading to Cancún while his constituents suffered the state’s energy breakdown, initially suggesting he could help, beachside, laptop and phone at the ready, by staying in touch with government officials and his staff.
Does that hold water? How much impact do federal lawmakers have in a local and state crisis by being on site where they are not on the front line?
According to other U.S. Texas lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, a lot.
They can put pressure on federal emergency officials and federal agencies – which are funded through Congress — to get supplies to needed areas; connect with local officials to highlight a problem and work to resolve it.
“It always takes an elected official to kick ass and get it done,” said Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist and consultant who advises politicians in both parties. “They control the purse strings.”
And there’s an intangible element: Lawmakers need to feel their constituents’ pain as they suffer alongside them.
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“It certainly gives you an understanding of what they’re going through, to a degree,” U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, told the American-Statesman. Doggett experienced the cold; he had to leave his home for three days.
And that personal connection that escaped Cruz, at least initially, matters, said Rice University political science professor Mark Jones.
“What is crucial from a symbolic point of view is that they (federal lawmakers) are seen to be doing all in their power to help their constituents, even if only in small numbers, while also signaling to their constituents that they are suffering the same deprivations as the people they represent, be it a lack of electricity and heat or absence of water,” Jones said.
Doggett and his wife had to be rescued by a daughter when he lost power at his East Austin home early in the week, staying with her family and working out of his son-in-law’s nearby office to help his constituents.
“We’re trying to respond to them through social media, posting every half-hour how to find food and water,” Doggett said. “Just being accessible is so important, not just to individuals but to organizations.”
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‘A heavy dose of what it’s like’
Hospitals, charities and churches all look to lawmakers, he said, in addition to federal agencies.
Doggett, who has represented portions of Austin in Congress since 1994, is a veteran of dealing with bureaucrats through other crises.
“The main problem is the desperation of people about water right now,” he said.
Doggett said he had been in frequent contact with FEMA and Travis County Judge Andy Brown about getting truckloads of bottled water to Austin after he learned Thursday that the supplies were stuck in a staging area in Fort Worth. And he helped get the word out to local officials about the dangers of low water pressure in hospitals.
Similarly, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco, newly elected in 2020 to represent the 17th Congressional District after 22 years in Congress representing North Texas, told the American-Statesman about his experiences.
“I got a heavy dose of what it’s like to be in frigid weather without power for 48 hours. I am thankful that I had a roof over me and an opportunity to experience the same thing that so many other Texans did,” he said.
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“I have been in the community trying to be a resource in any shape or form. Practically, this looks like helping jump cars, showing appreciation for local law enforcement, handwriting letters to residents in the 17th District, and having important discussions with the National Guard and local officials,” Sessions said.
“My team and I have been hard at work ensuring that we can be a reliable source of information to help those that are hurting right now. Moving forward, my focus will be directly related to not finding fault but finding answers.”
He toured the district Saturday to inspect damage.
Lawmakers demand answers from ERCOT
Texas Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul of Austin, John Carter of Round Rock, Roger Williams of Austin, Chip Roy of Hays County and Mike Cloud of Victoria, sent a letter to Bill Magness, chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, demanding to know how the crisis happened and how such situations would be prevented in the future.
McCaul lost power as well, said spokesperson Rachel Walker, and had to sit in his car to charge his phone “so he can communicate with officials across the district.”
McCaul’s office provided a lengthy list of those with whom he has been in contact, including county judges, the mayors of Houston and Austin, state agencies including ERCOT, federal agencies including FEMA, power and water utilities, and officials and businesspeople in the district.
More:How to apply for Texas FEMA assistance, what you need to know
Roy lost power as well and posted on social media that “while my family and I are safely working through this situation, others are not so fortunate.”
He said his office was in touch with the Department of Energy, ERCOT, the governor’s office and local power providers and posted links to the Texas Public Utility Commission and to a map of warming centers.
And Roy, known for not mincing words, added, “It is an embarrassment for the nation’s preeminent energy producer to suffer outages of this manner.”
He said he would support an investigation already called for by state officials.
Carter’s home lost electricity, but he worked to get officials at Fort Hood, in his district, to lend a generator to the city of Granger.
To Miller, the political lesson for federal lawmakers is clear: “You have to be proactive."