Over the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with Sen. Ted Cruz and Congressman Randy Weber, both of whom were in town to assess the damage from Tropical Storm Harvey.

I asked both men whether or not the devastating flood has caused them to rethink the dangers posed by climate change and, both times, both men said that now is not the time to talk about climate change.

I was startled. I don’t know when else would be a good time to talk about the root cause of devastating flooding other than after a devastating flood but, then, I am no politician either.

Seventh grade earth science tells us that thunderstorms thrive in warm, wet conditions and so as the earth warms, it makes sense that the storms would get bigger and wetter. Indeed, in the wake of Harvey we have seen numerous articles that indicate Harvey was intensified due to warmer temperatures. Fox News, in fact, had this headline, “Scientists say warming makes storms, like Harvey, wetter.”

The story goes on to quote Princeton University’s climate scientist, Michael Oppenheimer, who said, “This is the kind of thing we are going to get more of. This storm should serve as warning.”

Climate change was not always a political issue. Remember the ozone hole? President George H. W. Bush led the charge in fixing that problem and Richard Nixon gave us the Environmental Protection Agency. These men were not outliers in their party—these men realized what many continue to realize: When the climate turns deadly, everyone is harmed.

Critics may point out that taxes or regulations kill industry, but climate change kills people. And it doesn’t help industry, either.

Let me be clear: Hurricanes happen. They always will. But climate change will drive the biggest, wettest and most powerful storms.

Weber pointed out on Saturday that 500-year storms seem to be happening with growing frequency, though he didn’t bother to say why. In the past year and a half, I reported on three—first in Bogalusa, Louisiana and then in Baton Rouge and now here, in Port Arthur.

As it stands, both Cruz and Weber are angling for extra government money to prepare for the next Harvey. This is great news and I hope we get the money.

But, trying to get money to pay for expensive storm preparations without doing anything at all to actually stop the storms from occurring is a bit like paying for lung cancer treatment while buying cigarettes. You can do both, but experts advise against it.

We have spent the last two weeks telling stories of heroics and heartbreak. And while we will rebuild, our community is broken.

Cruz visited us twice and Weber stopped by, but visits are poor substitutes for experience. I hope these men never have to experience what we have gone through and what we are going through.

Yet, unless these men find some moral courage to fight the culprit, then we will almost assuredly have to go through this again.

We have seen, these past few weeks, how men and women have helped strangers and neighbors. We have seen people show tireless devotion to our community and to others at tremendous personal cost. I spoke with a police officer who worked for three days helping evacuees, even as water swallowed up his own home. There are many like him here.

We do not ask those in Washington to sacrifice near as much. But I do hope, at some point, Cruz and Weber show even a sliver of that same courage and do the right thing.

True, they may lose an election. But, by doing nothing, we will lose so much more.