Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezWhy America doesn’t have the third party it wants Ocasio-Cortez calls for a thorough investigation of Cuomo’s treatment of coronavirus in nursing homes Ocasio-Cortez raises millions for help in Texas, plans trip to Houston MORE (DN.Y.) raised about $ 4.7 million in aid funds for Texas, CNN reported on Sunday.
Ocasio-Cortez started fundraising on Thursday after freezing temperatures took over Texas and left millions without power or drinking water. His press secretary, Ivet Contreras, confirmed to CNN that nearly $ 5 million had been raised by Sunday night.
CNN notes that this is Ocasio-Cortez’s first major fundraising effort and visit to the disaster site in addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic efforts.
“Our first major relief effort was last year, when COVID was hit and therefore we were able to build a relief and fundraising operation and we started working on it with COVID, but that was in our home district, and before that, we mobilized for relief from hurricane Maria, but that was before I was elected a member of Congress, “Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. “I think this is just something that we should be able to do whenever there is an area in our country that needs it.”
Houston Public Media reports that funds raised by Ocasio-Cortez will go to Houston Food Bank, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas, The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center and Corazon Ministries, among others.
The congresswoman visited Texas on Saturday, helping to distribute food at the Houston Food Bank and visiting a home affected by the winter storm, reports CNN.
“It’s one thing to read about what’s going on, it’s quite another to see the damage for ourselves,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “The message in Washington is we are not going to let people get caught up in a lot of red tape. We are going to try to get this assistance out of the house as much as people need and as soon as possible.”
Dozens of Texans died due to harsh conditions caused by falling temperatures. Criticism has been raised about Texas’ energy infrastructure, which is largely isolated from the rest of the country. On Sunday, a family filed a lawsuit against Texas’s grid operator, the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), alleging that serious negligence led to the death of their 11-year-old son.