East Texas Congressman Brian Babin was onboard a train involved in a crash with a garbage truck in Virginia on Wednesday. Babin and other Republican members of Congress were taking the train to a conference at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.
The crash killed one person in the garbage truck and five other persons were injured. Several of the lawmakers including Babin assisted in caring for those injured in the crash. Later, the Republican congress members continued to the conference by bus.
Congressman Babin spoke with KOGT by phone early Wednesday morning after he boarded the train, just before the accident happened. Babin said he has been working to get federal funds for Harvey relief to southeast Texas, but the recent government shutdown delayed the distribution of the assistance. Some of those funds have been released, but the bulk of it is in an $81 billion House bill that is being held up in the Senate.
Babin pointed out no state was hit harder by the storm than Texas, no district had more damage than the 36th Congressional District he represents, and no county suffered more from Harvey than Orange County. “We’re working very hard to get that money to the areas that need it,” Babin insisted.
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