WEBVTT - Texas Governor Greg Abbott Talks Hurricane Beryl Response

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Governor, I do want to hear about your trip in

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<v Speaker 2>just a moment, but I do need to start with

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<v Speaker 2>Barrel here and the news that broke last night, President

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<v Speaker 2>Joe Biden telling the Houston Chronicle they had to delay

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<v Speaker 2>distributing supplies because they weren't able to reach state leaders

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<v Speaker 2>for the needed disaster declaration request.

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<v Speaker 1>What's your response to that? Is that true?

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<v Speaker 3>Oh? First, it is false, completely false, and it's bizarre.

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<v Speaker 3>You would think that if a president were to make

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<v Speaker 3>an attack like that on a governor, he would have

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<v Speaker 3>the receipts to prove it. To the contrary, Julie, I

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<v Speaker 3>have the receipts to prove he just flat outlight Because Julie,

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<v Speaker 3>I received multiple phone calls from President Biden in the

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<v Speaker 3>aftermath of prior disasters when he called me, and he

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<v Speaker 3>called directly in the very same number. Every single time,

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<v Speaker 3>that number has not been called by either the President

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<v Speaker 3>or he buying the White House at all during this episode,

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<v Speaker 3>with one exception, and that is on July the fifth,

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<v Speaker 3>I did receive the phone call on that very same

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<v Speaker 3>phone number that President Biden has used in the past

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<v Speaker 3>from one of his cabinet members are a FEMA director.

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<v Speaker 3>So here's the point. People who work for Joe Biden

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<v Speaker 3>used the same number that Joe Biden had used in

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<v Speaker 3>the past to give me a phone call. When Joe

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<v Speaker 3>Biden said this time he called me, he just flat

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<v Speaker 3>up and made it up.

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<v Speaker 2>Now did anybody from Texas reach out to the White

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<v Speaker 2>House to say, hey, we need this disaster declaration? Did

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<v Speaker 2>anybody request that?

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<v Speaker 3>Of course, and Julie, this works the same way that

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<v Speaker 3>it has in every disaster that we have, and that

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<v Speaker 3>is what happens is you make an assessment of the

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<v Speaker 3>damages that occurred. Mathematically it has to add up to

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<v Speaker 3>a certain dollar amount to get a FEMA award. And

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<v Speaker 3>we waited until the dollar amount was met and then

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<v Speaker 3>sought the grant from FEMA, and it was actually awarded

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<v Speaker 3>by Joe Biden. So Joe Biden stepped upon his own

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<v Speaker 3>success by trying to help out Texas by making up

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<v Speaker 3>a fabrication that has no tether to truth whatsoever.

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<v Speaker 2>I do want to talk a little bit about out

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<v Speaker 2>barrel as you know, more than two million people without power.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a lot of frustration right now with Center Point.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, that's handling seventy five percent of it. What

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<v Speaker 2>should be done to handle this? And are you concerned

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<v Speaker 2>about how this was handled from a city, state and

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<v Speaker 2>center point level.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, so, when you look at the fact that a

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<v Speaker 3>Category one hurricane has come through Texas, the sole remaining

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<v Speaker 3>issue is a horrible issue for a fellow Texans and

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<v Speaker 3>that is more than two million Texans out of power. Julie,

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<v Speaker 3>This this should not be happening whatsoever period. And what

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<v Speaker 3>I'm going to be doing immediately is instructing the Public

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<v Speaker 3>Utilities Commission to undertake an immediate study to find out

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<v Speaker 3>why this is repeatedly happening in Houston, Texas. They should

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<v Speaker 3>not be losing power. I want to find out was

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<v Speaker 3>there a structural flaw with regard to the electrical delivery system?

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<v Speaker 3>Was that the cause of it? If so, what needs

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<v Speaker 3>to be done to short up? Or was this a

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<v Speaker 3>personnel issue of not having enough power personnel and all

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<v Speaker 3>the right locations to get power back up and going again.

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<v Speaker 3>All I can tell you is this, I want the

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<v Speaker 3>PUC to provide information to both me and to the

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<v Speaker 3>Texas legislature so that we will be able to act

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<v Speaker 3>on it next year to make sure that events like

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<v Speaker 3>this never happen again.

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<v Speaker 2>You know you are away right now talking about trade,

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<v Speaker 2>but when you look at our own state, do you

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<v Speaker 2>think because of all these problems happening in Houston right now,

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<v Speaker 2>some businesses are going to say, hey, this is not

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<v Speaker 2>a good place to go because there have been so

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<v Speaker 2>many issues there.

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<v Speaker 3>So the opposite is true. The fact of the matter

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<v Speaker 3>is that some of the businesses that I've been working

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<v Speaker 3>with have locations in Texas that were in the pathway

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<v Speaker 3>of the hurricane itself. For most is an easy example.

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<v Speaker 3>There's others also, And listen, everybody who locates in Texas

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<v Speaker 3>knows the hurricanes happen. I will tell you to the

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<v Speaker 3>contrary of what you suggested, CEO after CEO after CEO

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<v Speaker 3>has expressed their sympathy and their support, but also their

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<v Speaker 3>pride about doing business in the state of Texas.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk a little bit about your trip right now.

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<v Speaker 2>I know you toured a Samsung facility, obviously a very

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<v Speaker 2>big deal for us here in Texas. Do you expect

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<v Speaker 2>more business from Samsung? And what are you gathering on

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<v Speaker 2>this trip?

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<v Speaker 3>So, I mean, we're gathering different things in the different

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<v Speaker 3>countries that we've been in You mentioned Korea. I'm in

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<v Speaker 3>Japan right now. But when I was in Korea, yes,

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<v Speaker 3>we did visit Samsung as well as other companies, But

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<v Speaker 3>for one, Samsung has more than doubled their initial investment

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<v Speaker 3>in the Austin facility itself. Now, what we are doing

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<v Speaker 3>is we're working to attract all of what we'll call

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<v Speaker 3>the satellite companies that will be providers of supplies and

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<v Speaker 3>services to Samsung. If we're able to land those, this

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<v Speaker 3>is going to be game changing for the entire economy

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<v Speaker 3>of the state of Texas. Thousands upon thousands of jobs

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<v Speaker 3>will be added, with tens of billions of dollars of

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<v Speaker 3>investment made in Texas.

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<v Speaker 2>Biggest highlights so far and the biggest avenue you think

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<v Speaker 2>to increase business.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, there's a game. Listen. We all know that there

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<v Speaker 3>are two or three factors that will determine the future.

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<v Speaker 3>One is microchips, another is space and with regard to

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<v Speaker 3>both of those, being able to set up a state

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<v Speaker 3>office by the Texas Economic Development Team in Taiwan the

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<v Speaker 3>first time we've ever done that, and recognize Taiwan for

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<v Speaker 3>the important partner that it is, and then have an

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<v Speaker 3>agreement with the country of Taiwan and to meet the

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<v Speaker 3>president and talk about not just economic issues but also

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<v Speaker 3>geopolitical based issues. It was both fascinating but also strategically

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<v Speaker 3>important to the future of Texas. That said, I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>what we're doing today in Japan, what we did yesterday

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<v Speaker 3>in Korea, all are very valuable as it concerns the

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<v Speaker 3>bottom line to growing businesses in the fastest growing business

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<v Speaker 3>state in America.

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<v Speaker 2>Before I let you go, because I know I'm short

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<v Speaker 2>on time, you know your message to Houstonians right now

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<v Speaker 2>and to Texans that are really frustrated and angry.

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<v Speaker 3>So Ever since I left the state, my mind has

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<v Speaker 3>never left this state of Texas. All I can think

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<v Speaker 3>about while i'm here is what's going on in Houston

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<v Speaker 3>en elsewhere. And Julie, what I do is, after working

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<v Speaker 3>all day long in whatever country I'm in, I'm telephoning

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<v Speaker 3>late at night, early in the morning back in Texas,

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<v Speaker 3>local officials, stateward officials working with Acting Governor Dan Patrick,

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<v Speaker 3>as well as members of the Leistery Shire as well

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<v Speaker 3>as these local officials to make sure all of their

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<v Speaker 3>needs are met.

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<v Speaker 2>You comfortable with how they're handling it, or was there

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<v Speaker 2>a point where you're like I should go back and

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<v Speaker 2>run this show here.

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<v Speaker 3>So, Julie, the way a hurricane response works is that

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<v Speaker 3>we prepare all year long for hurricanes, and then a

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<v Speaker 3>week in advanced before a hurricane reaches our shore, we

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<v Speaker 3>deploy Texas Division of Emergency Management personnel across all of

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<v Speaker 3>the entire affected area. We had personnel from TM from

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<v Speaker 3>Brownsville over close to Louisiana, all the way up to

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<v Speaker 3>near Shreveport or Texas Kenta to make sure that anybody

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<v Speaker 3>in harm's way was going to have their needs addressed.

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<v Speaker 3>The big problem that we're facing, however, is a power

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<v Speaker 3>problem and delivering that power to customers, and we will

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<v Speaker 3>not rest until we get that fixed.

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<v Speaker 2>Before I let you go, I do have to ask you,

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<v Speaker 2>because we will both be in Milwaukee.

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<v Speaker 1>I assume next week.

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<v Speaker 2>Former President Trump you've talked about before, and I've heard

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<v Speaker 2>you say many times, I'm not interested in being vice president.

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<v Speaker 1>I like being the governor of Texas.

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<v Speaker 2>However, you have been very active with him when it

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<v Speaker 2>comes to the border.

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<v Speaker 1>Any interest in DHS or being in the cabinet.

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<v Speaker 3>I'll tell you this, Jillie. The most important political job

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<v Speaker 3>in the United States, as president of the United States,

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<v Speaker 3>the second most important political job in America, as Governor

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<v Speaker 3>of Texas. And I'm running for reelection as governor of

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<v Speaker 3>the great State of Texas.