ROCKPORT, Texas (AP) - The Latest on Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Texas to survey damage from Harvey (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump administration expects Congress to “move quickly” to send federal cash to people and businesses in Hurricane Harvey’s disaster zone.
Pence also says more than 300,000 people have registered for disaster aid.
He spoke in Corpus Christi, Texas, after Harvey dumped record-breaking rain and caused widespread flooding along a swath of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Pence says he expects Congress to act on the White House request soon after lawmakers reconvene next week.
Harvey is the first major national disaster of the seven-month-old Trump administration. During his own visit to the region earlier this week, Trump pledged to send federal aid to the region quickly.
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3:30 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the White House will support Harvey victims, pledging to “be with you every day until Texas rebuilds stronger and better than before.”
Pence is visiting a distribution center in Victoria, Texas, where relief organizations are providing supplies. The power is out in the city, but water is running.
Among the items here for distribution are cans of tuna, Keebler cookies and Annie’s Cheddar Squares. Cabinet secretaries are pitching in to help.
Pence says, “We are going to see our way through this crisis and the best days for Victoria and the best days for Texas are yet to come.”
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12:30 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the nation has been inspired by the resilience of Texans dealing with the storm damage from Harvey.
Pence is joining with state and local officials and community members in Rockport, Texas, which was severely damaged by the storm. The vice president spoke outside First Baptist Church, where a side of the building was blown out by the storm.
Pence says the Trump administration is “with you and we will stay with you until Rockport and all of southeast Texas come back.”
Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife, is leading the attendees in a prayer. The vice president was joined by several Cabinet members and shook hands and greeted people outside the storm-damaged church.
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11:30 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is visiting with Texas storm victims and surveying the damage close to where Harvey first slammed ashore as a Category 4 hurricane.
The vice president landed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was greeted by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Pence and his wife, Karen, are being joined by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a former Texas governor, and other Cabinet members.
Pence will be traveling to the coastal town of Rockport to see the devastation caused by the storm that set a rainfall record and severely flooded the Houston area. Residents of Rockport were among the first in the U.S. hit by Harvey.
Pence’s visit comes two days after President Donald Trump visited Corpus Christi and Austin for briefings with local officials.
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6 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is getting a chance to survey Harvey’s wreckage.
Pence is traveling to the tiny coastal town of Rockport, Texas, on Thursday to see the devastation caused by the hurricane-turned-tropical depression that set a rainfall record and severely flooded the Houston area. Harvey’s five straight days of rain totaled close to 52 inches, the heaviest tropical downpour ever recorded in the continental U.S.
Residents of Rockport were among the first in the U.S. hit by Harvey, which came ashore last Friday as a Category 4 hurricane.
President Donald Trump visited Corpus Christi, Texas, and Austin on Tuesday for briefings with local officials.
Trump plans to return to Texas on Saturday and possibly visit Louisiana, parts of which are now being lashed by Harvey’s remnants.
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