Biden vows help for ‘long haul’ after storm
President tours food bank, touts vaccination efforts in visit to Houston
President Joe Biden looked straight into the eyes of Marvin Lovick and listened to him explain how he and others have been doing everything they can since the deadly winter freeze to get food to those in need.
As Biden toured the Houston Food Bank on Friday, he said the nation already had so many children who go to bed hungry each night and praised Lovick, a retiree, and other volunteers for working around the clock since the storm, which made the need even greater.
“Thank you, man,” Biden told Lovick.
It wasn’t just Lovick. Biden, wearing a protective mask, walked up and down lines of volunteers assembling food distribution boxes and gave them hugs, fist bumps and elbow bumps.
For Biden, Friday was the first time he had been able to get to Texas to assess the devastation after millions in the state were left without power and water for days after frigid temperatures blasted the entire state. He and first lady Jill Biden toured the Harris County Emergency Operations Center just before meeting with volunteers at the food bank. He wrapped up his visit by going to NRG Park, where the Federal Emergency Management Agency has helped set up a mass vaccination site that can provide 6,000 shots a day.
“Jill and I wanted to visit Texas today for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, to let the people of Texas know our prayers are with you in the aftermath of this winter storm,” said Biden, now in his sixth week in office.
But the Democrat also said the federal government sees the dire need and will be a partner “for the long haul.”
“We will be true partners to help you recover and rebuild from the storm and this pandemic and the economic crisis,” said Biden, standing in front of a FEMA trailer near NRG Stadium.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a fellow Democrat, said there’s a symbolic message in Biden coming to Texas and showing support. But she stressed that the state and the nation’s third most populous county are also getting real commitments from the federal government to be on the ground and help long term.
FEMA has already delivered food and millions of gallons of water and is providing direct assistance to help homeowners who lack insurance to repair damage from the storm, said Biden, who was accompanied by acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton.
“Them coming gives hope,” Hidalgo said. “It’s a community that needs hope. It’s a community that’s been, just been torn down so many times now. It’s just disaster after disaster.”
The region experienced major flooding in 2015 and 2016 and was affected by severe tropical storms or hurricanes in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Bipartisan collaboration
But it wasn’t just Houston leaders meeting with Biden.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, both Republicans, spent part of Friday with the president. At the Harris County Emergency Operations Center, Biden said that when Abbott called him as the disaster was unfolding, he committed to helping with anything he needed.
“He said yes before I even asked the question,” Abbott said as Biden patted him on the back.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told Biden that the damage from the winter storms is going to take much longer to fully determine. He said there are hundreds of school districts that are still assessing damaged buildings.
“We have a lot of families and businesses and importantly schools that have not yet been able to submit their damage assessments to us,” Kidd said. “We’ve got a long way to go. Mr. President, I know we can get through this together and we’ve just got to keep going.”
For Biden, the presence of conservative Republicans such as Abbott and Cornyn helped him make a point that was a key component to his campaign for the White House last year.
“We’re not here today as Democrats or Republicans,” Biden said. “We’re here today as Americans.”
He stressed that while he differs on many issues with the state’s Republican leaders, there are also matters on which they can work together.
Biden said he was struck by all of the people who are volunteering their time to help their neighbors and pointed to the people at the Houston Food Bank as evidence.
“An incredible operation,” Biden said.
While every president is expected to serve as a comforter-inchief during times of tragedy, advisers said Biden particularly craves the one-on-one experiences on the ground to understand the magnitude of problems.
“It’s important to him to hear directly from people on what their needs are,” said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary.
The Bidens’ visit to the food bank comes as Houston-area residents are recovering from a food shortage after the storm disrupted supply chains and power outages spoiled refrigerated food. Even before the storm, food banks around Texas had begun seeing food shortages after the state Department of Agriculture slashed funding for a program that sends farmers’ surplus produce to food banks and charities.
Jill Biden arrived at the food bank shortly before the president and was joined by Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott as she placed canned peaches into bags for the Backpack Buddy program, which distributes food on weekends to students who rely on school meals during the week. The first ladies also helped pack food for a federally funded program that distributes boxes of food to lowincome seniors.
Katherine Byers, the Houston Food Bank’s government relations director, said officials are hoping the Bidens’ visit will lead to an uptick in donations, as was the case after U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, stopped by the operation last weekend.
Byers said she also hopes the visit signals Biden’s presidency will bring increased funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, and an extension of the age limit for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
“There are a lot of working families out there who really are struggling, and the donations help, but there’s no way we can better people’s lives in the long term by just putting a box of food in front of them,” Byers said.
As the president toured the food bank Friday, he at one point stopped to give a pep talk to a young girl who was sorting food into bins with her mom and brother, whom Biden had greeted moments earlier.
“My sister has all brothers — me and my two other brothers,” Biden told the young girl. “She’s my best friend in my whole life. My best friend, really. She’s smarter than I am, better looking than I am.”
The girl hugged Biden then ran over to hug her brother.
‘Right direction’ on vaccines
Biden is no stranger to Houston. During his final stop of the day, at the vaccination site at NRG Park, he recalled coming to the city when his eldest son, Beau, was being treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center for brain cancer. Beau Biden died in 2015. The president spoke of his determination to end cancer.
He also spoke of the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people in the United States, including more than 42,000 Texans.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that about 47.2 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the New York Times reported. Biden stressed that mobile vaccination units are being launched in Houston and other parts of the state to get the vaccine to people who don’t live near a vaccination center or local pharmacy, and that vaccines are being sent directly to community health centers that serve “hard to reach” populations including in the Black and Latino communities.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Biden said.
But Biden warned that cases and hospitalizations are still at risk of spiking again with new variants of the virus emerging. He urged people to continue to wash their hands, socially distance “and for God’s sake, wear your mask. … It’s not a political statement. It’s a patriotic thing to do.”
“The worst thing we can do now,” Biden said before returning to Washington, “is we let our guard down.”