Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Why America Doesn’t Have The Third Party It Wants Ocasio-Cortez Calls For Full Investigation Into Cuomo’s Dealing With Coronavirus In Nursing Homes Ocasio-Cortez Raises Million For Help In Texas, Plans Trip To Houston MORE (DN.Y.) has raised approximately $ 4.7 million in emergency funding for Texas, CNN reported on Sunday.
Ocasio-Cortez kicked off its fundraising campaign Thursday after freezing temperatures took over Texas and left millions without power or clean water. Her press secretary, Ivet Contreras, confirmed to CNN that nearly $ 5 million had been raised on Sunday evening.
CNN noted that this is Ocasio-Cortez’s first major fundraising and disaster visit, aside from efforts related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“ Our first major relief effort was last year when COVID hit and so we were able to set up an emergency relief and fundraising operation and we got our teeth into that with COVID, but that was in our home district, and so we mobilized for that for the relief of Hurricane Maria, but that was before I was elected to Congress, ”Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. “I think this is just something we should be able to do if there is an area in our country that needs it.”
Houston Public Media reported that the money raised by Ocasio-Cortez will go to the Houston Food Bank, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas, the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center and Corazon Ministries, among others.
The congresswoman visited Texas Saturday, helped hand out food at the Houston Food Bank, and visited a home hit by the winter storm, CNN reported.
“It’s one thing to read about what’s going on, but it’s quite another to see the damage for yourself,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “The message in Washington is, let’s not get people into a lot of red tape. Let’s try to get this help out the door as often as people need and as quickly as we can.”
Dozens of Texans have died as a result of the harsh conditions caused by the falling temperatures. There has been criticism of Texas’s electricity infrastructure, which has been largely cut off from the rest of the country. A family filed a lawsuit on Sunday against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator of Texas, alleging that gross negligence led to the death of their 11-year-old son.