    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

          BUREAUCRATIC CHALLENGES TO HURRICANE RECOVERY IN PUERTO RICO

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY

                                     OF THE

                             COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT
                             AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                 MARCH 22, 2018

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 115-74

                                   __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

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             Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov
                           http://oversight.house.gov

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                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
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                  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

                      Trey Gowdy, South Carolina, Chairman
    John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee       Elijah E. Cummings, Maryland,
    Darrell E. Issa, California              Ranking Minority Member
    Jim Jordan, Ohio                     Carolyn B. Maloney, New York
    Mark Sanford, South Carolina         Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of
    Justin Amash, Michigan                   Columbia
    Paul A. Gosar, Arizona               Wm. Lacy Clay, Missouri
    Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee          Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
    Virginia Foxx, North Carolina        Jim Cooper, Tennessee
    Blake Farenthold, Texas              Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia
    Thomas Massie, Kentucky              Robin L. Kelly, Illinois
    Mark Meadows, North Carolina         Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan
    Ron DeSantis, Florida                Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey
    Dennis A. Ross, Florida              Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
    Mark Walker, North Carolina          Jamie Raskin, Maryland
    Rod Blum, Iowa                       Jimmy Gomez, Maryland
    Jody B. Hice, Georgia                Peter Welch, Vermont
    Steve Russell, Oklahoma              Matt Cartwright, Pennsylvania
    Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin            Mark DeSaulnier, California
    Will Hurd, Texas                     Stacey E. Plaskett, Virgin Islands
    Gary J. Palmer, Alabama              John P. Sarbanes, Maryland
    James Comer, Kentucky
    Paul Mitchell, Michigan
    Greg Gianforte, Montana

                         Sheria Clarke, Staff Director
                      Robert Borden, Deputy Staff Director
                        William McKenna General Counsel
       Sharon Eshelman, Subcommittee on National Security Staff Director
                             Kiley Bidelman, Clerk
                     David Rapallo, Minority Staff Director

                                     ------

                       Subcommittee on National Security

                        Ron DeSantis, Florida, Chairman
    Steve Russell, Oklahoma, Vice Chair  Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts,
    John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee           Ranking Minority Member
    Justin Amash, Michigan               Peter Welch, Vermont
    Paul A. Gosar, Arizona               Mark DeSaulnier, California
    Virginia Foxx, North Carolina        Jimmy Gomez, California
    Jody B. Hice, Georgia                John P. Sarbanes, Maryland
    James Comer, Kentucky                Vacancy
                                         Vacancy

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Hearing held on March 22, 2018...................................     1

                                   WITNESSES

    The Honorable Michael Byrne, Assistant Administrator for Field
      Operations, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S.
      Department of Homeland Security
        Oral Statement...............................................     7
        Written Statement............................................    10
    Mr. William Parks, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary,
      Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S.
      Department of Energy
        Oral Statement...............................................    17
        Written Statement............................................    19
    Mr. Peter Lopez, Regional Administrator, Region 2, U.S
      Environmental Protection Agency
        Oral Statement...............................................    24
        Written Statement............................................    26
    Mr. Scott Aaronson, Vice President, Security and Preparedness,
      Edison Electric Institute
        Oral Statement...............................................    32
        Written Statement............................................    35
    SSG Johnathan Sutton (Ret.), Former U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne
      Division, Puerto Rico Volunteer
        Oral Statement...............................................    43
        Written Statement............................................    45

                                    APPENDIX

    Statement for the Record from the American Public Power
      Association, submitted by Chairman DeSantis....................    70
    Letter from Ranking Member Cummings and Ms. Plaskett to Chairman
      Gowdy, submitted by Ms. Plaskett...............................    75
    Letter from Ms. Gonzalez-Colon to the U.S. Army Corps of
      Engineers, submitted by Ms. Gonzalez-Colon.....................    82
    Observations on the Federal Response to Maria in Puerto Rico,
      submitted by Ranking Member Lynch..............................    84
    Questions for the Record, submitted by Members of the Committee..    89

          BUREAUCRATIC CHALLENGES TO HURRICANE RECOVERY IN PUERTO RICO

                                  ----------

                            Thursday, March 22, 2018

                      House of Representatives,
                     Subcommittee on National Security,
                  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
                                                       Washington, D.C.
        The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m., in
    Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ron DeSantis
    [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives DeSantis, Hice, Lynch, and Welch.
        Also Present: Resident Commissioner Gonzalez-Colon and
    Delegate Plaskett.
        Mr. DeSantis. The Subcommittee on National Security will
    come to order.
        Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
    recess at any time.
        We're here today to talk about the bureaucratic challenges
    to recovery after one of the most devastating hurricane seasons
    in history. Exactly 6 months ago yesterday, Hurricane Maria, a
    monster of a storm, struck our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.
    The island sustained deadly 155-mile-an-hour winds and 20 to 30
    inches of rainfall in a period of just 24 hours. Sadly, lives
    were lost as a result.
        Now, the President took action by deploying the full weight
    of the United States Government. Within 6 days of Maria's
    landfall, more than 10,000 Federal employees were deployed to
    aid in the recovery.
        Puerto Rico's residents were completely without
    electricity. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed.
    Individuals found themselves with no power, no water, no way to
    communicate with one another. Emergency response crews have
    operated around the clock to restore these critical services
    ever since, but there's still more to do.
        Thanks to the hard work and generosity of countless people,
    thousands of meals and gallons of water have been distributed,
    children are back in school, and the most vulnerable again have
    access to medical care.
        But we need to do more. As of last week, there were still
    as many 150,000 people without power across the island.
    Interruptions due to overloads or equipment failures still
    happen virtually weekly.
        Additionally, 96 percent of the island now has access to
    potable drinking water, but when you look at the different
    regions, you see, for example, that 17 percent of the
    population in the western portion of the island are still
    lacking their own safe water supply.
        Eighty-eight percent of the gas stations are up and
    running, 92 percent of grocery stores are open, but two-fifths
    of the roadways are still either closed or impassable. And more
    than 890 generators are still the primary source of power for
    some key facilities, including the wastewater treatment plants
    and the San Juan financial district.
        In the aftermath, over 6 months, due to the lack of basic
    services, hundreds of thousands of citizens in Puerto Rico
    found themselves making the hard choice to relocate due to the
    need to find jobs because their workplaces were out of
    business, so they could send their kids to school and care for
    their elders. They have moved to many States. One of the many
    points of entry has been my State of Florida where there's been
    a major effort to offer relocation assistance.
        Many of these citizens await normalization to return to the
    island, while others are surely staying for the long-term, but
    all of them want to know when will their hometowns and their
    families be able to fully stand back on their feet. They do not
    forget Puerto Rico, and neither do we.
        The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the lead
    coordinator on all things disaster-related, overseeing the
    historic interagency effort underway in Puerto Rico. We want to
    hear FEMA's perspective on what went right and what could have
    been done better and what still needs to be done.
        Mr. Michael Byrne, the assistant administrator for field
    operations, is joining us here today to shed some light on
    FEMA's role in the recovery.
        While we have heard a lot about the U.S. Army Corps of
    Engineers' role in the effort to restore power to Puerto Rico,
    the Department of Energy is actually the lead agency for
    Emergency Support Function #12, the Energy Annex. The
    Department is responsible for facilitating the restoration of
    damaged energy systems and components, which was certainly
    needed in Puerto Rico.
        We have a representative here today from Energy's Office of
    Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability to discuss the
    progress being made on the ground and the work yet to be done.
    So I want to thank Mr. Parks for being here.
        These two officials will help us shed light on what it will
    take to get the power fully restored, and we will want to know
    what it will take to make the part of the task so that the
    effort is continued without interruptions.
        Another critical element of restoring Puerto Rico is the
    access to safe, drinkable water and the removal of solid waste.
    Mr. Peter Lopez from the Environmental Protection Agency is
    here to testify about EPA's role in ensuring the residents of
    Puerto Rico can and will have access to safe drinking water,
    and what the Federal, State, and local authorities need to do
    to ensure this in the future.
        We also have Scott Aaronson from the Edison Electric
    Institute. EEI represents all U.S. investor-owned electric
    companies. In response to a request for assistance, EEI
    coordinated with its members to deploy incident management
    teams in support of power restoration efforts across the
    island. Through this agreement, industry efforts coordinate
    with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and the Army
    Corps to restore power to the people of Puerto Rico.
        All told, almost 6,700 Federal personnel, civilian and
    military, are currently supporting the recovery and restoration
    efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thousands
    more from nongovernment and charitable organizations have come
    forward to help get Puerto Rico back on its feet.
        So we want to discuss what lessons we've learned from this
    devastation before the next hurricane season is upon us. We
    also want to hear what changes are being made to ensure we do
    better going forward and that the lessons learned to help the
    Nation be better prepared for such catastrophic events.
        And Puerto Rico, I mean, they're going to face another
    hurricane season here in just a few months, and I think it's
    important we solve all these problems by then.
        So I want to thank you for your efforts to date and for
    coming to answer our questions.
        And with that, I will yield 5 minutes to the ranking
    member, Mr. Lynch.
        Mr. Lynch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank
    you for convening this hearing to examine the progress of
    Federal hurricane relief and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
        I'd also like to thank our witnesses for your willingness
    to help the subcommittee with its work.
        It is the mission of the Federal Emergency Management
    Agency, also known as FEMA, to, quote, ``lead America to
    prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters with a
    vision of a Nation prepared,'' close quote.
        The critical role of FEMA as our Nation's coordinating
    Federal entity in response to all domestic disasters demands
    that the agency operate at maximum efficiency in order to
    mitigate the devastating effects of national emergencies on the
    safety and security of the American people.
        In the aftermath of the landfall of two Category 5
    hurricanes, Irma and Maria, just 2 weeks apart on Puerto Rico
    in September of 2017, FEMA has led Federal relief and recovery
    efforts to provide emergency food and water, temporary housing,
    healthcare, power grid restoration, and other basic services to
    the survivors of this continuing humanitarian crisis.
        Regrettably, however, the Agency's mission has been greatly
    impaired by many of the same oversight challenges that
    undermined the failed Federal response to Hurricane Katrina
    back in 2005. Puerto Rico and its 3.5 million American citizens
    deserves better. I think we all agree on that.
        As reported by the Select Committee to Investigate the
    Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina in 2006, FEMA
    logistics and contracting systems did not support a targeted,
    massive, and sustained provision of commodities--that was the
    finding--to affected Gulf residents.
        The Agency did not have advance contracts in place that
    anticipated what supplies would be needed in the wake of a
    hurricane. According to the Select Committee, this, quote,
    ``led to chaos and the potential for waste and fraud as
    acquisitions were made in haste,'' close quote.
        Our own committee hearings into Katrina contracting in 2006
    revealed instances where debris removal contractors would
    arrive at a Federal dumpsite, check in, and then drive away,
    only to return later with the same truckload of debris and
    receive double payment.
        The Federal Government also spent millions of dollars on
    contracts with companies to install temporary blue plastic
    sheeting on damaged homes. These blue roofs were billed to the
    American taxpayer but never installed.
        Despite the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina more
    than a decade ago, we are once again receiving a similar report
    of waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal contracting relating to
    the Puerto Rican relief effort.
        Nearly 1 month after the hurricane hit the island, FEMA
    awarded $156 million contract to a one-person company owned by
    Tiffany Brown, Tribute Contracting LLC, to provide 30 million
    emergency meals.
        Ms. Brown received a contract despite her failure to
    fulfill at least five previous and much smaller Federal
    contracts. This is one woman. Those previous contracts included
    a 27,000 Federal Prison system contract that was canceled
    because she could not deliver the required beans, flour, and
    spaghetti, and other food.
        As the sole employee of her company, Ms. Brown sought help
    in fulfilling her new FEMA contract and hired a wedding caterer
    with 11 employees to freeze dry meals.
        In a letter sent to FEMA last month, members of the Senate
    Government Affairs Committee also underscored that Ms. Brown's
    initial nine-page bid appeared to be plagiarized from several
    readily available sources on the Internet.
        While FEMA eventually canceled the contract after Ms. Brown
    could only deliver 50,000 of the required 30 million meals, the
    residents of Puerto Rico, the American taxpayer, and this
    committee are left asking how FEMA could have awarded the
    contract in the first place.
        Similarly, in October of 2017 the Agency awarded two
    contracts, totaling $30 million, to a newly formed Florida
    company, Bronze Star, LLC, to provide emergency tarps and
    plastic sheeting for repairs in Puerto Rico. The company was
    owned by Richard and Kayon Jones, two brothers operating out of
    a single-family house. They had never received a Federal
    contract or delivered these materials before. FEMA also
    eventually canceled the contracts in November and admitted that
    it had not performed due diligence.
        President Trump has graded the Federal relief and recovery
    effort in Puerto Rico as, quote, ``great,'' close quote,
    ``amazing,'' close quote, ``tremendous,'' and ``a 10 out of
    10.'' I don't think so. It may have been a 10 for Tiffany Brown
    and the Jones brothers, but it surely hasn't been a 10 for the
    people of Puerto Rico or for the U.S. taxpayer.
        In light of these and other reports, congressional
    oversight will serve an even more critical role in ensuring
    that our massive recovery effort will not be further impeded by
    a failure to properly vet Federal contractors.
        I strongly urge the Agency to comply with this committee's
    request for documents pertaining to the Federal preparedness
    and response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and
    the U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes a bipartisan document
    request by our full committee chairman, Chairman Gowdy, and
    Ranking Member Cummings over 5 months ago.
        I would also urge the leadership of this committee to
    organize a bipartisan oversight delegation to the damaged
    areas, as we did in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. I know
    that the Massachusetts delegation, led by Senator Elizabeth
    Warren, were there in January and brought back a very
    informative report. That would allow us to conduct direct
    oversight of Federal recovery efforts, receive firsthand
    accounts from the affected people, and hopefully get this
    right.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really do appreciate you holding
    this hearing. And I look forward to discuss these and other
    issues with our witnesses. And I yield back the balance of my
    time.
        Mr. DeSantis. I thank the gentleman.
        The chair notes the presence of our colleague from Puerto
    Rico, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon. And without objection, I move
    that she be recognized and allowed to participate in today's
    hearing.
        There being none, I would like to take this opportunity to
    actually recognize her for an opening statement.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And with
    that, I want to begin this saying thank you to you, Chairman
    DeSantis and Ranking Member Lynch, for agreeing to have this
    very important hearing on Puerto Rico and agreeing to have this
    meeting on the challenge of the recovery process on the island.
        And, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you, particularly on
    behalf of my 3.4 million American citizens living in Puerto
    Rico, because of your steadfast leadership and support in the
    aftermath of the Hurricanes Irma and Maria, not only for the
    residents of the island, but also for the hundreds of thousands
    who have since the hurricane been forced to move to your home
    State of Florida.
        And one of the main issues we still face on the island is
    the great anxiety and the frustration among all the citizens in
    the island over the time it has taken to get the power being
    restored.
        One of the main issues is in the private sector, the
    individuals and businesses had to rely on generators at high
    cost and environmental impact. It has caused considerable
    business losses from closures, limited hours, and cost
    overruns.
        Specifically, the people with medication pumps,
    respirators, and the like, it has caused considerable
    situations. They are in municipalities where no resident had
    power until late January. And we are talking about more than
    100,000 people still without power. And that's one thing.
        I want to say, also, that I want to thank the witnesses
    that are here today to give us some light about that recovery
    process. And with that, I want to say thank you to Mr. Byrne.
    He has always been available to all my calls in all that
    recovery process.
        And I want to thank you, because I know you've been away
    from home many hours, and your people from FEMA. And I know
    you're doing your job.
        We still need more. And I hope this hearing will help us
    out to establish what is needed from Congress, what is needed
    from the Federal Government.
        Same thing to the rest of the Federal agencies. Over the
    last 3 weeks, residents of the island have been subject to
    great stress and worry upon learning that many repair and
    construction crews have ended in terms of their contracts or
    are being relocated to higher-priority locations.
        There is some shock on the island and dismay at the
    impression that the mission is winding down before the job is
    finished and the apparent lack of a concerted effort to explain
    what is happening.
        A rural working family without electricity for 6 months
    does not want to hear of standard protocols or contract
    restrictions. They want to see full effort directed to
    reconnecting every remaining home everywhere.
        And we're talking about everywhere in the island, not just
    the metropolitan area on the northern side of the island. We're
    talking about the central part or the towns where the hurricane
    made landfall.
        I stated in another hearing last week, and I will say it
    again, I just want you to imagine if your own hometown here in
    the mainland will be without electricity for 2 months, 3, 4, 6
    months, without power, with also failing communications, with
    the only assurance that, ``We are working on it.''
        What will happen? The people of Puerto Rico have been
    admirably patient, but are justifiably tired. If we were a
    State having five congressional district and two Senators, who
    will not leave a State, nobody will leave a State without power
    for 6 months.
        And now we're facing the next hurricane season in 3 months.
    So that's the biggest challenge that we're facing. That's the
    reason this hearing is so important for us.
        We are now over 90 percent capacity online, but still less
    80 percent of transmission and distribution lines at a full
    load. That means that the Corps of Engineers estimated that 95
    percent of the capacity will be up by the end of March, but
    that does not necessarily mean that the 100,000 people will
    have power in their houses by the end of August of this year.
        So that's my biggest challenge, and that's the reason we
    need to know the reality. That's the reason we need to know
    what do we need to have a 30-day timeframe in terms of FEMA,
    Corps of Engineers, all the Federal agencies to make that
    happen. If it's assigning money, if it's amending the rules, if
    it's amending the resources in terms of another CR, what do we
    need to make that happen?
        For that, we need to bear in mind that rebuilding needs to
    be done in such a manner as to consider the possibility of such
    a catastrophic event happening again. Hurricane season starts,
    as we already said, in 3 months, and we have presented with
    other colleagues from both sides of the aisle amendments to
    open up the Stafford Act limits so we can be more flexible and
    not just patch up what is broken, but rebuild to update
    standards, Section 20601 of last month's CR.
        There is also $2 billion in that continuing resolution
    specifically meant for improvement of the power grid. We also
    know that that's not even close to what we need. But at least
    that's a start, and we must maintain the sense of urgency that
    sometimes is missing.
        With that, I will yield back the balance of my time. I will
    save the rest for the questions.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. DeSantis. Great. I thank my friend from Puerto Rico.
        Now, you just heard that votes have been called. I've got
    five of you to give opening statements. So I think it's
    probably wise that we just briefly recess this. We'll go vote.
    It's probably going to be a 30-minute evolution. Probably no
    earlier than 10:45.
        And so I appreciate the witnesses' indulgence on this. Any
    time you do these hearings, if we did it 2 o'clock yesterday,
    we would have had votes then.
        So the subcommittee will recess at the call of the chair.
    We plan to return immediately at the conclusion of votes.
        So the committee stands in recess.
        Mr. DeSantis. The subcommittee will come to order.
        I appreciate the indulgence of the witnesses as we tackle
    the ominous omnibus bill.
        It's my pleasure to introduce our witnesses. We have
    Michael Byrne, Assistant Administrator for Field Operations at
    the Federal Emergency Management Agency; William Park, Senior
    Advisor to Assistant Secretary at the Office of Electricity
    Delivery and Energy Reliability at the U.S. Department of
    Energy; Mr. Peter Lopez, Regional Administrator for Region 2 at
    the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Mr. Scott Aaronson,
    Vice President for Security and Preparedness at EEI; and Staff
    Sergeant Johnathan Sutton, U.S. Army, retired, a volunteer in
    Puerto Rico during this recovery effort.
        Welcome to you all.
        Pursuant to committee rules, all witnesses will be sworn in
    before they testify. Please stand and raise your right hand.
        Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to
    give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
    so help you God?
        Okay. Please be seated.
        All witnesses answered in the affirmative.
        In order to allow time for discussion, please limit your
    testimony to 5 minutes. Your entire written statement will be
    made part of the record.
        As a reminder, the clock in front of you shows the
    remaining time. During your opening statement, the light will
    turn yellow when you have 30 seconds left and red when your
    time is up.
        Please also remember to press the button to turn your
    microphone on before speaking.
        And with that, I would like to recognize Mr. Byrne for 5
    minutes.

                           WITNESS STATEMENTS

                       STATEMENT OF MICHAEL BYRNE

        Mr. Byrne. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman DeSantis,
    Ranking Member Lynch, Representative Gonzalez-Colon, and
    members of the subcommittee.
        My name is Mike Byrne, and I'm the Federal coordinating
    officer in Puerto Rico. Thank you for this opportunity to
    testify.
        In the emergency management community, we talk about
    needing to be prepared for the big one. Last fall, Puerto Rico
    experienced the catastrophic impacts that we train our entire
    careers for. Hurricane Maria is the fifth-strongest storm, and
    it's the strongest storm to strike Puerto Rico in nearly a
    century. The storm left nearly all of Puerto Rico's 3.5 million
    people without power, and the lack of backup generators shut
    down other critical infrastructure, like water treatment plants
    and hospitals.
        Communications were decimated, hindering initial
    operations. Seaports, airstrips were severely damaged,
    resulting in limited initial access to bring in commodities.
    Roads and bridges were washed away, cutting off isolated, hard-
    to-reach communities.
        Following the devastation of this catastrophic storm, FEMA
    and the Commonwealth and our other Federal partners took
    immediate action. We established the largest domestic sea
    bridge operation in U.S. history, delivering more than a
    billion dollars in commodities such as food, water, tarps, and
    construction materials. These commodities were delivered by
    air, off-road vehicles, and often by foot, making it the
    largest and longest commodity delivery mission in FEMA's
    history, and it is still going on.
        Also, one of the largest medical response missions. More
    than 4,700 medical personnel deployed and cared for more than
    38,000 survivors. FEMA mission-assigned 80 Federal agencies
    with more than 700 distinct mission assignments, supporting
    power restoration, temporary power, debris removal, et cetera,
    all of the different response functions that we do.
        At the height of the response, there were nearly 19,000
    Federal personnel deployed to Puerto Rico working around the
    clock with territory and local officials.
        The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, mission-assigned by FEMA,
    installed more than 1,900 emergency generators. To put that
    context, previously the most installed was 310 during Katrina.
    We still have over 800 of those still working.
        While there's lots of work to be done, we have seen
    significant signs of progress. More than 90 percent of the
    power has been restored, with crews working around the clock in
    treacherous, mountainous terrain to work on lines as quickly
    and safely as possible.
        PRASA reports nearly 99 percent of their customers have
    water restored. More than 6.4 million cubic yards of debris has
    been removed. All 68 hospitals are back in operation and have
    been since mid-November. More than $10 billion has already been
    spent, between FEMA and SBA assistance programs, that has been
    approved for the response and recovery efforts.
        We are also committed to identifying solutions around
    housing, from direct financial assistance to direct repairs.
    We're working every avenue possible to restore housing.
        In order to meet the long-term recovery needs and move into
    recovery, FEMA and our partners are implementing the structure
    and functions of the National Disaster Recovery Framework in
    Puerto Rico. We've established 12 sectors to holistically
    address the magnitude of the damage across these systems and
    how we can combine and leverage resources to more effectively
    and efficiently restore these systems.
        Thanks to authorities given to us by Congress in the
    Bipartisan Budget Act last month, we can now provide assistance
    funding to Puerto Rico for critical services to replace or
    restore infrastructure to industry standards without regard to
    their pre-disaster conditions. We can also replace or restore
    components not damaged by the disaster when it is necessary to
    restore the entire system to industry standards. These new
    authorities are critical to ensuring we help build back a more
    resilient Puerto Rico.
        We're also greeting ready for the 2018 hurricane season.
    We've already hired over 1,500 local hires on the island,
    Puerto Ricans. It is actually 52 percent of my workforce right
    now, and I plan to get to 90 percent by the 1-year anniversary.
        We're also doing training. We're also resupplying our
    warehouses with stockpiles, adjusting our national-level
    contracts. We're also going to be doing a significant amount of
    training and exercises. In fact, we have three major exercises
    scheduled before the end of June.
        Hurricanes Irma and Maria, along with all the other 2017
    disasters, highlight the importance of preparing for the worst.
    As Administrator Long unveiled last week, FEMA's strategic plan
    includes the goal of building a culture of preparedness and
    readying the Nation for catastrophic disasters.
        I encourage Congress and Americans across the country to
    partner with us as we look to get the Nation more prepared. I
    appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. I look
    forward to your questions.
        Thank you.
        [Prepared statement of Mr. Byrne follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. DeSantis. Thank you.
        Mr. Parks, you're up for 5 minutes.

                       STATEMENT OF WILLIAM PARKS

        Mr. Parks. Chairman DeSantis, Ranking Member Lynch,
    Representative Gonzalez-Colon, and other members, thank you for
    the opportunity to be here today.
        The mission of DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and
    Energy Reliability is to develop innovative solutions to ensure
    that our Nation's energy infrastructure remains reliable,
    affordable, and resilient. In order to fulfill this mission, we
    leverage the technical capabilities of the national
    laboratories, the power marketing authorities, and partnership
    with the private sector.
        Our organization is the lead for providing energy-related
    expertise to FEMA, interagency partners, and the administration
    emergency response activities. We're the coordinating agency
    for Emergency Support Function 12 under the National Response
    Framework and the sector-specific agency for energy under
    Presidential Directive 21.
        In addition, we're the primary agency for infrastructure
    systems recovery support function under the National Disaster
    Recovery Framework.
        The impacts of these hurricanes, as mentioned, adding to
    their pre-existing conditions of the grid in Puerto Rico has
    led to an unprecedented restoration period. The significant
    damage done to the electricity sector and the complicated
    nature of an island response created major logistical
    challenges, as mentioned by Mr. Byrne.
        In the wake of these, DOE has received $17 million in
    mission assignments from FEMA to provide technical assistance
    for hurricane response and recovery. In addition, we received
    $13 million in the supplemental funding for response and
    recovery activities. This gives us the opportunity to help the
    Commonwealth incorporate resilience and reliability into the
    new Puerto Rico grid.
        The hurricane season of 2017 serves to highlight the need
    for a continued and adaptive focus on energy system resilience.
    The presence of responders at utility operations and early
    engagement with utilities is crucial, especially in the
    presence of Federal and State emergency operation centers.
        The administration has conveyed in numerous hearings that
    Congress should revisit the Stafford Act, and recovery efforts
    would focus on resilience and investments that will mitigate
    further damage. As mentioned, having the flexibility to do more
    than just restore back to pre-existing conditions in a
    situation like Puerto Rico is crucial.
        We also brought in the power marketing authorities with
    their knowledge of building systems. Long-term deployments have
    really stressed our capacity, as this has been the longest
    deployment that we've ever had, at 6 months.
        We are working on a plan to develop Puerto Rico's grid,
    listing actions and options for building in greater resiliency,
    power quality, and reliability. It will include developing a
    power flow model for Puerto Rico that allows better both grid
    planning and grid operations. This will inform FEMA's
    overarching comprehensive plan as required in the supplemental
    funding legislation.
        DOE has also engaged in Southern States Energy Board to
    provide support to the Puerto Rico Governor on territorial
    regulatory and policy issues to set up the best structure for
    going forward in the future.
        I am grateful for and impressed by the hard work of the
    emergency responders and recovery experts during this hurricane
    season.
        Over the next several months, our primary focus in Puerto
    Rico will be working with our partners to support the ability
    of the power grid and the critical infrastructure to withstand
    future events in a reliable, resilient, and affordable manner.
        Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
        [Prepared statement of Mr. Parks follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. DeSantis. Thank you.
        Mr. Lopez, you're up for 5 minutes.

                        STATEMENT OF PETER LOPEZ

        Mr. Lopez. Thank you, Chairman. And in the interest of
    time, I will try to consolidate my remarks. You have the full
    testimony in front of you.
        So good morning, Chairman DeSantis, Ranking Member Lynch,
    Representative Gonzalez Colon, members of the subcommittee.
        My name is Pete Lopez. I'm the Regional Administrator for
    Region 2, which comprises New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico,
    U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Indian
    nations.
        Mr. Lopez. So I'm very pleased to be part of this
    assemblage today.
        Just to put it in perspective, my experience in New York
    State, as a State assembly member, gave me the opportunity to
    be involved in intense storm-related recovery. In my region,
    Northern Appalachian, we were impacted by Hurricane Irene and
    Tropical Storm Lee. And just to put it in perspective, my
    family was homeless, my parents homeless. We struggled with
    many of the similar issues impacting Puerto Rico.
        The challenge, of course, of geographic isolation and the
    socioeconomic conditions also gave me a sensitivity and an
    understanding of how complicated it can be to respond when you
    have an isolated and economically disadvantaged community. So,
    effectively, the more disadvantaged, the slower and more
    painful the recovery.
        On a personal note, I also have family on the island. And I
    can tell you, as I work with my colleagues, and I'm very
    pleased with their engagement, we take this personally.
        Mr. Lopez. We are galvanized by their struggles, and we are
    working intensely to provide results.
        I traveled to the islands last fall. Actually, I took off
    in October just as the storms were hitting. We made our initial
    visit. And the issue there was to focus not just on structure
    and function, but also on coordinating and seeking problem-
    solving opportunities, be creative with our problem solving.
        I plan to go back in the next few weeks to engage as we
    transfer between response and recovery, each being a little bit
    different. So with that said, we have been very pleased to work
    with FEMA, Army Corps, other colleagues, our State and Federal
    partners, our local partners. We realize that the work is not
    complete and that this will be a long time--a long journey,
    just to sum it up.
        So in terms of our actions, we have spent roughly $69
    million. We have other funds that we are working to engage with
    as we move into recovery. You will see a listing of all the
    work that we have done, a sampling of it. Just in highlighting,
    we have addressed chemical and hazardous waste facilities,
    Superfund and oil sites. We have addressed water treatment
    plants, sewer treatment plants, ambient air monitoring,
    hazardous waste, hazardous household waste, vegetative debris.
    The list goes on. Coast Guard, partnering with them to remove
    oil and hazardous substances. We are very focused, and we will
    remain committed.
        So as we move forward, we are very pleased to be part of
    the response protocol under FEMA. We are actively engaged, and
    are not lead on issues, but we are helping support, almost like
    wing men. I guess that is the best way to describe us. We are
    tucked right in there and working collectively.
        So the other thing that is of note as we move forward is
    that there are very serious issues, and I just want to
    highlight this quickly. As we rebuild, we also want to make
    sure there is capacity from the local governments to be
    sustainable as well. So in terms of their management structure,
    their organizational structure, the financing of solid waste
    landfill, maintenance over time, those are serious issues to
    us, and we will be helping to support that as well.
        So in sum, our success depends on our communication, our
    integration, State, Federal, local level, and our creative
    thinking. So we thank Congress for the resources, and we are
    doing our best. We will continue. Public safety, health of the
    environment matters, and we are right there.
        Thank you.
        [Prepared statement of Mr. Lopez follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. Hurd. Thank you. Mr. Aaronson, 5 minutes.

                      STATEMENT OF SCOTT AARONSON

        Mr. Aaronson. Thank you, Chairman DeSantis, Ranking Member
    Lynch, Representative Gonzalez-Colon, and members of the
    subcommittee, it is a privilege to be here to discuss power
    restoration in Puerto Rico. And I will also abbreviate my
    remarks as best I can in the interest of time. I will also
    direct you to the pictures that we are going to have rolling.
    Pictures really are worth 1,000 words to understand the level
    of devastation and the amount of restoration work that is going
    on.
        I am here today testifying on behalf of the Edison Electric
    Institute member companies, which is all the Nation's investor-
    owned electric companies.
        When duty calls, EEI's companies, crews, and contractors
    bring decades of experience and unique capabilities to restore
    power for those affected by natural disasters. That spirt of
    mutual assistance is a hallmark of our industry and was on full
    display throughout the historic 2017 hurricane season as all
    segments of the industry worked closely with our Federal
    partners in response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Nate, as
    well as the wildfires ravaged the Western United States. And
    that coordination continues today in support of the people of
    Puerto Rico.
        As has been noted, 2 days ago, we marked the 6-month
    anniversary of the day Hurricane Marie made landfall. This
    devastating category 4 hurricane impacted all critical
    infrastructure on the island, including the energy grid. The
    magnitude of destruction to the grid is unlike anything we have
    ever seen on the U.S. mainland, making this power restoration
    mission more difficult than other missions. As of today, the
    Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, reports that
    more than 93 percent of the 1.47 million customers who can
    receive electricity, have had their power restored. It is
    important to note that one customer is equal to one electric
    meter, but that one meter may serve several people.
        That progress could not have been made without the
    partnership of PREPA, FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    and its contractors, and the many mutual assistance crews who
    worked tirelessly to restore power for the people of Puerto
    Rico. And while there has been significant progress, nobody
    deserves to be without power for this long. EEI, our member
    companies, and the rest of the industry, remain committed to
    this mission in helping our fellow citizens on the island.
        To that end, I would like to explain our industry's role
    and the challenges we had faced in supporting power
    restoration. PREPA made its initial ask for mutual assistance
    from the mainland industry on October 31. Since then, nearly 60
    investor-owned electric companies and public power utilities
    have committed personnel, equipment, and materials to the
    efforts.
        Within days of receiving the request for mutual assistance,
    two industry storm bosses, or incident response experts, were
    deployed to Puerto Rico to assess the situation on the ground
    and develop a comprehensive restoration plan. It should be
    noted that a contingent of industry crews from New York,
    including EEI member crews, has been on the island since
    October from agreement between Governors Rossello and Cuomo.
        Our November 22, Governor Rossello appointed Carlos Torres,
    who is formerly of Con Edison, as the power restoration
    coordinator to oversee the multi-pronged restoration effort,
    and to align the work of industry, PREPA, the Army Corps, and
    others committed to the mission. This unified command has been
    instrumental in managing the large complex restoration safely,
    while ensuring crews, capabilities, and materials are being
    used effectively. It really is a shared effort that has
    embodied the motto one team, one mission.
        Applying lessons learned on the mainland, an incident
    command structure was created for PREPA that include an
    incident command staff in San Juan, and seven incident
    management teams, or IMTs. The arrival of crews from mainland
    electric companies was the culmination of months of critical,
    but much less visible work, necessary to make this effort a
    success.
        In most deployments, workers load their equipment into
    their trucks and set out on the roads to help. In this case,
    nearly 20 barges were needed to get trucks and equipment to
    Puerto Rico. And workers had to be flown to the island. All
    told, more than 3,000 workers from the mainland industry have
    been a part of this mission. Companies from across the mainland
    also had sent stocks of critical materials, including poles,
    transformers, insulators, wire, and other necessities to ensure
    crews had equipment and material compatible with the island
    system. It is important to understand that companies committed
    to this mutual assistance effort are doing so at cost, on a
    not-for-profit basis.
        As of today, about 900 mutual assistance workers remain on
    the island. In every single restoration, a point is reached
    where a substantial amount of work is completed, and the amount
    and type of workers needed to complete the job is reassessed.
        The restoration plan ensures that crews will now converge
    into the hardest-hit areas, and that the right number of
    workers remain actively engaged and continue to work safely and
    as quickly as possible. This deliberate rightsizing of the
    workforce is typical. As is the case with all restorations, the
    final customers will be the most difficult and time-consuming
    to restore.
        In this case, the terrain on the island is a recurring
    challenge. While the response in Texas and Florida to
    Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were extremely efficient, we were
    reluctant to compare storms, as each has unique challenges. It
    is natural to suggest the response in Puerto Rico should have
    been executed as it was on the mainland, but there are
    significant differences that made the situation on the island
    unique. For one, you cannot preposition crews on the island for
    fear that responders would become victims. Then there is the
    challenge of getting people and equipment to the island.
        Finally, material availability is imperative. We stockpile
    equipment on the mainland and made as much available to PREPA
    as possible. But their energy grid had some unique components,
    and their stockpiles were diminished.
        Our industry's mantra is to be better today than we were
    yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. While it is
    difficult to extrapolate too much from such an anomalous event,
    we will be undertaking a full after-action study to ensure we
    glean lessons that can help preparations on the mainland, and
    to prevent a similar long-term recovery should Puerto Rico be
    impacted by another catastrophic hurricane.
        Again, I appreciate the opportunity to be here and for the
    subcommittee's interest in this important topic. And I look
    forward to your questions.
        [Prepared statement of Mr. Aaronson follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. DeSantis. Thank you. Staff Sergeant Sutton, you are up,
    5 minutes.

                     STATEMENT OF JOHNATHAN SUTTON

        Mr. Sutton. Good morning, Chairman, ranking members, Miss
    Gonzalez, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I
    initially flew over to Puerto Rico on the 26th of September,
    and I stayed all the way until December 2 of 2017. From getting
    over there, I pretty much--you know, I went on my own accord. I
    was actually living in Maui, Hawaii, at the time. Never heard
    anything about anything on the news about the devastation, what
    is going on, you know, how bad this actually was. I ended up
    getting ahold of a few military members that I knew were
    already over there, and they went ahead and sent me current
    active photos, videos, and anything that I could possibly get
    my hands on over there.
        I went on my own accord. Touched down. As soon as I got in
    the airport, I honestly felt like I was the only person coming
    into Puerto Rico trying to bring aid, you know, just as a
    regular person. My flight, you know, obviously can fit over 400
    people, but, you know, there was 10.
        I came in. As soon as I touched down, I found the, you
    know, FBI. Located homeland security. You know, identified
    myself.You know, let they know, Hey, I have a, you know,
    security clearance with DOD. You know, I am retired military. I
    was working with 82nd Airborne Division, working alongside with
    Special Forces groups and have been deployed multiple times.
    And I am here to volunteer, whatever you need. You know, told
    them my capabilities of being able to rebuild homes, provide
    power, AC. Anything you need, I can make it happen.
        They said they didn't need any help. Apply online. So I
    said, Okay.
        I went on my own accord. Went throughout Puerto Rico. You
    know, ran into a few police officers. Their big advice was,you
    know, You need to be really careful because you are not from
    around here.
        Right now, there is no communications outside the airport,
    period. Our communications are just here. The moment you leave
    the airport, I can't tell you what is going to happen to you.
    There was obviously looting. People being killed over the small
    amount of dollars they do have in their pockets. And moving
    around the city was practically impossible. Curfews were in
    place. Limited supplies, limited fuels, and people are very
    desperate.
        There was multiple times that I would go throughout Puerto
    Rico, and, you know, it is just a mad house. You know, people
    would either rush your car, rush your vehicle,you know, just
    trying to get whatever supplies you got on you.
        There is multiple times I would go out with, you know,
    people. And, honestly, it would be, like, too late. A lot of
    people, you would show up, say, Hey, I heard you had an elderly
    member or a child here. We are here to help you out. And,
    unfortunately, they passed away the night prior with
    dehydration, malnutrition, and a lot of people throughout the
    months became more devastated to the point where they took
    their own lives by either jumping off mountains or cliffs
    because they knew nobody was going to come. Nobody was coming.
    It had been months. And to be without power, being without
    water, being without food, it was honestly probably harder than
    any deployment I have ever been on in my life to see the amount
    of, you know, suffering, human suffering.
        And, you know, we were all looking for answers. I myself,
    you know, moved into a church member's home in Dorado. To paint
    a little better picture for you for Dorado and Bayamon, that is
    probably the--probably one of the worst side you could probably
    go in. Probably one of worst rough areas of D.C. you could ever
    think of, New York, L.A., wherever you want to think of. And
    being a guy that is not from the island, obviously it is not
    very safe for myself. I took the chance, took the risk, because
    I knew these people were in need, and they definitely needed
    some assistance.
        Throughout the months, you know, I did everything I could
    from getting medical supplies, getting food to people in hard-
    to-reach areas. And every single time I would go out, I would
    be the first person that anyone would ever see. They would let
    me know, hey, I haven't seen the mayor. I haven't seen FEMA. I
    haven't seen Red Cross. Can you help me?
        And, you know, I would definitely go out of my way, working
    with local hospitals, working with local organizations.
    Honestly, I did it all myself. I tried helping out with FEMA. I
    would work with them to try to deliver their supplies for them.
    And a lot of the responses that I would get would be, There is
    a lot of political things happening here, and I can't make this
    happen. Can you do it for me? And they would give me addresses,
    the locations, and I would go to them and make that happen for
    anybody on Puerto Rico.
        I would even, you know, take messages from random people
    over the internet, say, Hey, this is my address. My
    grandfather, you know, hasn't seen anybody. He is a retired
    veteran. Can you help me out? And I would go out of my way to
    make that happen. And honestly, the 3 months that I was there,
    I mean, I have no words to really describe, you know, the
    devastation that is currently out there. And that is still
    currently going on, so----
        Mr. DeSantis. Thank you.
        Mr. Sutton. Thank you for your time.
        I look forward to your questions.
        [Prepared statement of Mr. Sutton follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. DeSantis. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
        The chair is now going to recognize my colleague from
    Puerto Rico for the first round of questions. So you are
    recognized for 5 minutes.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you
    all members, the panel. I will try to be brief.
        The first question will jump directly to Mr. Mike Byrne.
        What do we need to complete the restoration of power in 30
    days?
        Mr. Byrne. I think where we are at right now in power is,
    if it was easy, it got done already. And even the easy part was
    hard in Puerto Rico because of the challenges of the terrain
    and challenges of the conditions.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. I know that part. And I know also--I
    just got 4 minutes now. But what do we need? Is it money? Is it
    resources?
        I do know you reimbursed the government--I mean, PREPA for
    the resources and the contracts they are doing with the mutual
    assistance agreement. We know the Corps of Engineers is going
    to continue to have some conflicts until April 7. My concern is
    that that higher end process will take some time. And you still
    got a lot of those contractors on the island until April 7. And
    we got still a lot of municipalities in the center part of the
    island, and we don't have all the materials on the island yet.
    And although Corp of Engineers is saying that the island will
    be 100 percent recover, in May or June, the reality is that
    when I sat with those personnel, they were saying July, they
    say in August, and maybe more than that. And I don't want to,
    you know, lie to my people back home. I know you do neither,
    you know. What do we need to make a plan for a 30-day re-
    powering of the island?
        Mr. Byrne. I, quite frankly, have the trust in the unified
    command that has been in place for the last 6 months. They have
    been able to do difficult things. And they are--have a plan
    now. And, again, in fact, talking to Carlos Torres, that we
    both know and respect and the work he is doing there. He said,
    Mike, the hard part to do is the stuff we are doing now, and it
    is like working on a car engine. You can bring in lots more
    mechanics, but you can only get so many hands into the vehicle
    at one time.
        So we are focused on that. And if the smart people at PREPA
    or at the Corps or any of those contractors can come up with a
    way or--to do this faster, you know we are going to support it.
    I am going to support it 1,000 percent.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. What about the materials?
        Mr. Byrne. We are going to continue to provide materials
    and get them in. As you know, we had challenges with material.
    There was other disasters going on. There was--you know, we
    were making material, and 30 days later it was getting put to
    use in terms of things. But, again, we are not going to let up
    until we get all the material we need and get that last mile.
    You know, as we have talked about, some of these houses are up
    a road that got washed out that are, you know, way in the back
    that--where we have to get to. But, again, we are not going to
    stop until we get to that.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. I will ask you to have, again, another
    meeting with the Corp of Engineers and new people from FEMA,
    and the people from PREPA, to see how we can maybe cut some red
    tape in terms of knowing if we can make a plan of--you know,
    cut those long months and days and have actually, you know, a
    final expectation, how long it will take to the people. People
    don't know how long they need to wait to actually have power
    again in their homes. And you know that. I mean, you are living
    on the island. You know how it has been living there.
        My next question will be, because I am running out of time.
    What deadlines have passed or are approaching to such things as
    aid applications, or 100 percent Federal funding? And those
    terms are statutory or administrative. I know, and I want to
    thank the people from EPA for answering my letter in terms of
    100 percent Federal assistance in the removal of debris, and
    thanking the President for allowing the new waiver for 60 days
    and making that happen. Thanking the administration for that.
    And I just received the letter on the 19 of March. That is one
    of the questions.
        The second one would be for the whole panel in terms of the
    Department of Energy. I know you are helping the Government of
    Puerto Rico, specifically PREPA. One thing is patching up what
    we have. Is the system going to be strong enough to resist even
    a tropical storm in August, or even to face another hurricane
    season in 3 months? Are we rebuilding? Are we patching up? I
    mean, what is the next step to re-powering the island and make
    a better system?
        Mr. Parks. So the first job was to get restoration, and
    that is what Mike has been talking about. We are looking at
    both short-term and longer-term things that are needed to
    really get that resiliency built into it. And as you saw, the
    San Juan blackout a couple weeks ago as an indication that some
    of this equipment has probably been--has a life expectancy that
    is reduced as a function of going through it.
        So the teams, Army Corps, FEMA, our people on the ground,
    are putting up as much as they can the best systems with the
    equipment they have and everything. But some of those things
    over the next few years may fail prematurely. And part of what
    we want to do is make sure that we are constantly increasing
    things, like inspection schedules and all of these routine
    maintenance things that are accelerated so we can predict and
    understand how fast we need to replace things relative to their
    normal life.
        Those are the kind of things that need to happen. We need
    to make sure that there are contract paths for getting things
    like microgrids in place. There are clear ideas of how to best
    serve some of the rural communities and that they understand
    options, and those decisions can be made.
        So those are the kind of things you need to think about. I
    think the key is vigilance now, and vigilance as we go forward
    and not--even if there is not another major event this summer,
    you want to continue to work toward making sure you have that
    resiliency and those things like the maintenance schedules set
    up and in place and operating.
        Mr. DeSantis. Thank you.
        The gentlelady's time is expired.
        The chair now recognizes the ranking member of the
    subcommittee, Mr. Lynch, for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Lynch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I want to thank the witnesses again.
        Staff Sergeant Sutton, thank you for your service to your
    country, and also for your willingness to pitch in at your own
    expense. And I just think that your involvement here was
    heroic, and we really appreciate it. I am sure the families of
    Puerto Rico appreciate that as well.
        Mike Byrne, let's talk about the decision of FEMA to award
    the contract for providing 30 million meals to victims in
    Puerto Rico to Tiffany Brown, a single person. She had a little
    LLC that she set up. So we got all these people without food,
    without water.
        A month after the storm, so 30 days out. They have already
    have been without food for a month. And we award $156 million
    contract to Tiffany Brown. And she is already on the website,
    on your website, as having defaulted on a previous small
    contract for $27,000 to provide beans and rice and spaghetti.
    She has already bellied up on that one. She is on the website
    in default. She can't do that. So we give her a contract for
    $156 million. How does that happen? How does that happen?
        Mr. Byrne. So we went through our normal contracting. We
    went through--followed the Federal procurement practices.
        Mr. Lynch. That was anything but normal. That has to be
    abnormal, right?
        Mr. Byrne. You know, we issued about just under 2,000
    contracts during that period of time. And the block that that
    particular contract was in, we did end up awarding six other
    contracts to other suppliers, so we were able to meet the
    demand. Didn't really impact our demand. And we also held this
    individual and this company accountable. We did not pay them
    $156 million, we only paid them for what they delivered--
    50,000.
        Mr. Lynch. You hired them and you didn't hire somebody else
    who could do the job, so I don't want to gloss over that. But,
    I mean, my point is that she should not have got that contract
    in the first place. One, for capacity. Just one person. She
    hired a wedding caterer, you know. You know, this was a
    disaster. So there was a sense of urgency that I don't think is
    being shared by FEMA, to be honest with you. And then she has
    got a prior history here.
        So here is what I am thinking. I mean, we have companies
    that provide meals ready to eat to our military, and they do a
    good job. Now, we don't need meals ready to eat because, you
    know, they are more expensive because they have got to last for
    5 years. However, we got companies that do that type of thing.
        Why wouldn't we reach out to one of those companies, have
    them bid, or just, you know, buy the stuff or arrange for
    acquisition through one of those companies, and then we will
    replace it later if we have to. But the thing is, we shouldn't
    have waited 30 days to get the bid out. And then once it got
    out, we shouldn't have given it to Tiffany Brown. And, you
    know, I am not even mentioning the Jones Brothers who got the
    contract for plastic roofing.
        Mr. Byrne. So we did distribute over 63 million meals. And
    even this week, we are still distributing every day, tens of
    thousands of meals out there. But, look, we are all about
    getting better. And if there is anything we can do to improve
    and make sure that we are doing better and we don't even let
    even one of our 2,000 contracts slip through the cracks and not
    be effective, then we will do that. We will certainly work to
    get better at that.
        Mr. Lynch. Let me just say.You know, my background is
    construction management. I was an ironworker for 20 years. That
    is what I got my degree in. And we usually had a list of
    qualified bidders, people that had a history and a record and a
    reputation for doing the right thing and doing it effectively
    and so that when the job came up, we had a pool of people that
    we could actually reach out to that we could rely upon. And you
    don't operate that way. And, you know, we also have performance
    bonds where we have the contractor post a performance bond
    where if they go belly up, we just grab their bond, and we go
    on to the next person. I don't see that going on at FEMA.
        Mr. Byrne. Well, we dealt with this contract quickly and
    effectively. And we----
        Mr. Lynch. Effectively?
        Mr. Byrne. We did away with it, sir.
        Mr. Lynch. Are you kidding me?
        Mr. Byrne. We stopped the contract.
        Mr. Lynch. No, no. Firing the person is not handling the
    contract effectively. Having them go belly up and non perform
    and then you fire them, that is not effectively. Picking a good
    contractor that provides the relief that the taxpayer paid for,
    that is efficiently, right?
        Mr. Byrne. Well, we did manage to do that for the vast
    majority of the--again----
        Mr. Lynch. Except for this $156 million contract. I don't
    know. I am not hearing what I thought I would be hearing after
    seeing what is going on here.
        I yield back.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentleman yields.
        The chair now recognizes himself for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Byrne, with this new language about allowing the
    rebuilding to go up to industry standards, not necessarily just
    the status quo anti, is that going to be a benefit for Puerto
    Rico specifically? Because wasn't their infrastructure really
    degraded? And so, yeah, it was a very bad storm. But because
    some of it wasn't up to industry standards, the damage was that
    much worse?
        Mr. Byrne. Yes, Mr. Chairman. This language that you guys
    give us really is going to streamline our process and enable us
    to do the right thing. I mean, just imagine the discussions we
    would have of ``he said, she said,'' of what was the condition
    before, what wasn't, what was old, what was new. We now don't
    have to worry about that. We are just focused on doing the
    right thing.
        And there was one other thing that you called for in the
    legislation for us to develop a plan, with the Commonwealth of
    Puerto Rico, to bring in the best and the brightest to design
    the right solution, not just project by project, but what is
    the right solution for the whole infrastructure system? And we
    are going to--we have 180 days to put that together, and we are
    going to let that be our guide as to how we build this back
    better and stronger.
        Mr. DeSantis. So they needed attention on the
    infrastructure even before the storm. And so having to go
    through as painful as this has been, on the back side, is it
    your expectation that we will a much stronger infrastructure
    system there in terms of the electricity and the water than we
    had previous to the storm?
        Mr. Byrne. Yes. That is exactly the opportunity that is in
    front of us. We are going to be vigilant. We are going to be
    direct. We are going to make sure that we use, when we bring
    in, some of the experts, my colleagues on the panel with me, to
    get their advice from their smart people so that--you know, we
    are not the experts in power. We are going to rely on the
    experts in power to tell us what the right thing to do. And we
    are going to use the authorities you gave us to end, and the
    funding you gave us, to make sure it happens.
        Mr. DeSantis. Good. Well, we want to see that put to use.
    And we want the folks back on their feet.
        I am going to yield the remaining time I have to my friend
    Jennifer, and so I will recognize her now.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Again, another question is regarding the deeds or titles of
    the home--of the owners of those homes, and that, you know, Mr.
    Byrne. That is one of the major problems we got on the island.
    The people have having a lot of difficulties applying for
    housing and individual assistance as they cannot command their
    home values, or even the homeowners, because they are leaving
    and--lands that were family owned or living there from a lot of
    years. And I actually filed a bill with Congressman Espaillat
    that addressed this issue. I just want to know if FEMA is
    willing to sit with me and HUD Department. Actually I already
    did that with Deputy Secretary of HUD trying to address this
    issue that has been there for many years.
        Are you willing to do that?
        Mr. Byrne. Yes. Absolutely. There is nothing more
    heartbreaking than to see somebody lose their home, and then
    have paperwork get in the way. We encourage those families to
    go to the disaster recovery centers. We have got 64 of them set
    up throughout the island. However you can get back on the phone
    with us, we will find a way to work that. And I look forward
    with you on it.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. I am glad to hear that, because that
    is one the biggest situation in the island even--I know that
    even locally, the construction code grandfather a lot of those
    informal kind of living. And actually the hurricane just
    spotlighted the situation on the island. I know the situation,
    and I will--this will be to EPA.
        How has this situation, hurricane, affected the status of
    the landfills in Puerto Rico? Because I know the debris and the
    proposals made it for alternative debris disposal has been
    increasing after the hurricane. And we already got a problem
    with a lot of landfills before the hurricane.
        And the third question, because I know I am going to run
    out of time, Mr. Byrne, is regarding--you know that PREPA is
    under the bankruptcy situation. So one of the main problems we
    got is PREPA don't got the money to buy the materials, in the
    first place, the liquidity to buy the materials and then got
    the reimbursement from FEMA to make that happen.
        So that will, you know, make longer the process of the
    recovery. So that is one of the reasons I know the Department
    of Energy and the Corps of Engineers were involved in the
    process. How can we make that process a faster one, and with
    your leadership there helping us out through your--faster
    situation.
        Mr. Lopez. Thank you, Miss Colon.
        So in regards to landfills, we share your urgent concern.
    And to answer your question, the storms have just made a
    situation that was difficult, and really a crisis situation,
    worse. So we have worked hard with FEMA and our colleagues to
    intercept waste before it is put into the landfill. So whether
    it is household waste, hazardous waste, vegetative debris, any
    number of potential additions to the landfills we are working
    to intercept it and then manage it. In some cases, shipping it
    off island for proper assessment.
        The issue, of course, is the long-term. And we are very
    dedicated to working with the Commonwealth and USVI, because
    they have the same problem on their islands to get them to a
    point where they have landfills that are secure. We know that
    many of the landfills, none of them, are in full compliance. We
    have 11 that we have--13 that we have orders against because
    they are potentially contaminating groundwater, they could be
    hazards to the community.
        Our challenge is that the ultimate responsibility lies with
    the Commonwealth in terms of managing and operating. So our
    goal, and we have developed a strategic plan in region 2 with
    EPA, we would like to reach out to the Commonwealth, bring all
    the stakeholders together, and begin looking at how do we
    address solid waste universally?
        How do we reduce the amount of waste going to landfills?
    What do we do for source separation, recycling. We like to be
    part of that process. How do we drive funding towards the
    island which the island will control to put in secure landfills
    with proper liners, proper leachate collection, to make ones
    that are unsafe, close them down. So we are very much united
    with you. The term ``crisis'' applies, and we are addressing
    this very urgently. We share your concern.
        Mr. Byrne. As to----
        Mr. DeSantis. Let me--the time is up. I am going to
    recognize--because we are going to have the vote called, so if
    there is time on the back end, I would love to give you an
    opportunity.
        Before I recognize our friend from the Virgin Islands, I
    have a statement from the American Public Power Association. I
    would ask unanimous consent that this be made part of the
    record. And without objection, it will be made part of the
    record.
        Mr. DeSantis. The chair does note the presence of Ms.
    Plaskett from the Virgin Islands. I ask unanimous consent that
    she be waived in and be allowed to participate. Without
    objection, so ordered.
        And then I now would like to recognize her for 5 minutes.
        Ms. Plaskett. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, ranking
    member, for holding this hearing, and thank you, gentlemen, for
    being here this morning.
        Part of the oversight and government reform purpose is to
    oversee and ensure that operations of the government are
    working smoothly and efficiently.
        In October, bipartisan members of this committee sent a
    letter to DHS and have been requesting from FEMA response for
    that letter related to these hurricanes. We have not, to date,
    received the documents from that. And that is something that is
    very, very unnerving, and, potentially, very problematic in our
    ability to continue to do our work.
        In the course of our own investigation in this committee,
    one of the things that we have recognized is, in the response,
    potentially some communications problem between agencies, and
    how are agencies working getting supplies to the people that
    are affected by these hurricanes.
        One of the instances we found out were surrounding Walmart
    and emergency food. We have emails and text messages between
    Walmart and government officials, and Congress and Puerto Rico
    who discuss the desperate need for fuel at the Walmart stores
    to be able to sustain the food that was there. In one, on
    September 23 and 24, a Walmart official wrote to the Puerto
    Rico official saying: Walmart, any word on the fuel situation
    on the island? Puerto Rico, there is some redaction, no word
    yet. I put in numerous requests with FEMA and haven't heard
    from anything. Because of your issue, I put in a request to be
    imbedded into FEMA headquarters tomorrow which will allow me to
    get this sorted out directly. I will let you know if anything
    happens.
        So our committee then issued to both myself and Ranking
    Member Cummings sent a letter to Trey Gowdy, which I would ask
    unanimous consent to be put into the record, which is a request
    regarding our bipartisan investigation of the response to the
    hurricanes and requesting information and outlining what we
    found out from the investigation and Walmart.
        So, Mr. Byrne, how was Walmart's emergency request for a
    generator fuel handled by FEMA?
        First, is there any objection?
        Mr. DeSantis. Without objection.
        Ms. Plaskett. Thank you.
        Mr. Byrne, what was Walmart's emergency request for
    generator fuel handled by FEMA?
        Mr. Byrne. At that point, I don't think I was at the
    response, but I am familiar with the issue and the--at that
    point in time in a response, we are focused--we have to
    prioritize where we are going to get emergency fuel to, and our
    focus was on hospitals, you know, dialysis centers, and
    community health centers and public safety buildings.
        Ms. Plaskett. How many generators were brought down to
    Puerto Rico?
        Mr. Byrne. A total of about 1,900.
        Ms. Plaskett. 1,900. And is there a protocol to have
    generators in places where food is being stored for food to be
    able--is that within the purview of FEMA to get generators to
    those locations?
        Mr. Byrne. We do. But with the issue of private sector
    companies, you know, I think we have to be cautious here. You
    know, this really is--you know, if we are going to rely on FEMA
    to be the single source for both private sector----
        Ms. Plaskett. Okay. I guess the question is--the question
    is are you--have protocols to be able to do it?
        I understand the issue with private sector. But we heard
    earlier in the testimony that there was issues in contracting
    for emergency food to be brought down. So when you have food
    there on the ground, does it then become a priority to make
    sure that that food supply doesn't become perishable?
        Mr. Byrne. We certainly take responsibility for everything
    we bring in.
        Ms. Plaskett. Okay. But one of the things I wanted to get
    back to with regard to the documents that we requested in
    October, do you have a date when you are going to respond to
    the letter that was sent by Chairman Gowdy and Ranking Member
    Cummings requesting the information from DHS?
        Mr. Byrne. This is the first that I have been made aware of
    that, but I am sure that I will take that back and we will make
    sure we respond.
        Ms. Plaskett. This is the first time that you heard about
    the letter that we requested information through FEMA from DHS?
        Mr. Byrne. Yes, ma'am. My role is to be the leader of the
    response in Puerto Rico. I am not really involved in the
    aspects that you just described.
        Ms. Plaskett. Okay. So will you get the message to get
    Brock Long for us?
        Mr. Byrne. I will carry it forward personally.
        Ms. Plaskett. Thank you.
        Mr. Byrne. Yes, ma'am.
        Ms. Plaskett. And do you know, Mr. Byrne, if FEMA has a
    plan for getting fuel to food storage generators in the event
    of another hurricane if it is being knocked out.
        Mr. Byrne. We are developing plans right now to have
    prepositioned a lot of fuel and generators on the island. We
    haven't worked out any details. But, again, I think we are
    going to--we are going to ask the private sector to also make
    plans, because this has got to be a whole community and not
    just us that is supplying all the emergency----
        Ms. Plaskett. I agree completely.
        So as my colleague, Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon, said, we are
    now several months before hurricane season again. Predictions
    are that this hurricane season should be the same level of
    activity as last year's.
        Are we prepared for a hurricane in the Virgin Islands and
    Puerto Rico, or one or two?
        Mr. Parks, is the Department--is your department prepared
    for that?
        Mr. Parks. We have--we prepare every year for----
        Ms. Plaskett. Are you prepared for the level of hurricanes
    happening in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico that occurred.
    That is a yes or no.
        Are you prepared for it?
        Mr. Parks. Well, our role--the simple answer is, I would
    say we are not, because we are not--that is not our function.
        Ms. Plaskett. If you are called upon, are you saying that
    you have no role to play in that when----
        Mr. Parks. No, ma'am. I didn't say that. You asked for a
    yes-or-no answer.
        Mr. Plaskett. Is your agency prepared when called upon by
    FEMA to support that?
        Mr. Parks. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes.
        Ms. Plaskett. And, Mr. Byrne, does FEMA have in place
    prioritization for the hurricane season that is coming knowing
    the compromised state that the Caribbean Americans are in right
    now?
        Mr. Byrne. We are going to take extraordinary steps to make
    sure we have stuff in place. But I would have to be honest, it
    is going to be a rough year. There is a fragile, you know,
    stability that we built, and we are going to need to take extra
    steps to make sure we have extra on the island, and we are
    doing that.
        Ms. Plaskett. Thank you.
        I yield back.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentlelady yields back.
        With that, I don't see any additional members.
        Would you like to do another round?
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Mr. Chairman, I would like, if you
    don't mind, to introduce into the record a letter I sent to the
    Corps of Engineers on the 13 of March of this year about the
    power restoration, to the record, if you don't mind.
        Mr. DeSantis. Without objection.
        Mr. DeSantis. Mr. Lynch, you have something for the record?
        Mr. Lynch. I just have one quick question, but I also have
    observations on Federal response to Maria in Puerto Rico. I
    would like to have this accepted into the record.
        Mr. DeSantis. Without objection.
        Mr. Lynch. Thank you.
        And the question I had is, so, Mr. Byrne, I realize you
    did----
        Mr. DeSantis. Well, hold on. Let me just see.
        Do you have any questions?
        Let me recognize her.
        Mr. Lynch. Oh, I am sorry. Sure. I thought she yielded. No
    problem.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentlelady is recognized for 5 minutes.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        This question will be to Edison Energy. My question will be
    how stable or reliable is the repair grid right now?
        Mr. Aaronson. Thank you, Representative Gonzalez-Colon.
        So I want to point to some of the things that were said by
    Mr. Parks and Mr. Byrne. While the grid before Hurricane Maria
    made landfall was certainly--had--in disrepair, I think the
    fact that we have the ability to not just repair and replace,
    as FEMA rules would dictate, but repair and replace to code is
    going to give us a leg up on a little bit more stability and
    resilience from the grid. I'd also note the quality of work
    under the unified command from the mutual assistance crews,
    from the Army Corps of Engineers and its associated
    contractors, and certainly from PREPA, is cause for some
    confidence that we are going to be in a better spot.
        And then the last thing I would say is, and this is true of
    the entire hurricane season. Mother Nature did one heck of a
    housecleaning, and took out a lot of the debris and vegetation
    that obviously can interfere with the safe transmission and
    distribution of electricity.
        So while I think to the points that were just made, we need
    to be vigilant and we need to continue to do the work. We are
    in a more resilient situation than we were prior to the 2017
    season.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. You just brought me a question to
    FEMA, and that is that some of the people from the Corps of
    Engineers were telling me that they never got the mission for
    FEMA to rebuild in a new way because they just got the
    provision of repair. And I just want to put in the record that
    we managed to include an amendment during the separate
    supplemental and the Budget Act, an amendment to Section 2601,
    the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management may
    provide assistance pursuant to the Section 428 of the Robert T.
    Stafford Act for critical services to replace or restore the
    function of a facility or assistance industry standard without
    regard to the pre-disaster condition of the facility or system,
    to replace or restore components of the facility not damaged by
    the disaster where necessary to fully effecuate the replacement
    or restoration of the disaster-damaged component.
        So that provision was included because precisely all of the
    restrictions your office told me during that process, during
    the hearings, during the codels that were on the island. So
    that is included in the amendment this Congress passed. And I
    think you already got the provisions and laws, so there is no
    excuse now to say that the Army Corps, or FEMA, don't got a
    provision to make that happen.
        Mr. Byrne. Yes. Definitely. I mean, there is nothing that
    we are more excited about than that, and the ability to
    actually do the right thing. But the Corps was accurate. The
    mission assignment we get was for emergency work, not permanent
    work. And, really, now is the part where we got to be
    deliberate. We have to take time to take a look and figure out
    what the right thing to do is going forward, because we have
    got an extraordinary chance, as you said. It did wipe things
    clean, destroyed 80 percent of the infrastructure. Now we get a
    chance. You know, the bad news is people have suffered, and we
    feel for that. But the good news is, is we are going to be able
    to--we have an opportunity to build this back the right way.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Mr. Byrne, another question regarding
    the Army Corps and the mayors is about how long it takes the
    reimbursement process? And during the last hearing from the
    homeland security, most of the mayors were--even Mr. Long is
    saying that you are dealing with a lot of requests from many
    States, but without the resources to manage a lot of those
    requests. Are you saying that you don't have enough people to
    manage the request of many of the reclamation from the
    municipalities?
        Mr. Byrne. Well, we are in the--you know, as far as the
    payback, you know, we recognize we want to move faster with the
    mayors and the documentation process that we have got in place.
    I think in any disaster that I have worked, the initial part is
    usually a little bumpy, but I think we will smooth that out.
        But as far as more people, my plan is to hire more people.
    Hire more people on Puerto Rico. As I said, I have 52 percent
    of my workforce is Puerto Ricans right now. I am going to try
    to get to 90 percent by the 1-year anniversary. And we are
    going bring on as many people as we need to provide the level
    of service that you are looking for.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. And, Mr. Chairman, one last question,
    and I will ask Mr. Byrne to file that on record for the
    committee, and it will be regarding the community disaster loan
    that I know the FEMA and the Treasury Department--actually, the
    Secretary of the Treasury is on the island today. Can you
    submit to this committee information regarding the status of
    the CDL for the municipalities and the State government
    regarding that during the next 5 days?
        Mr. Byrne. Sure.
        Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you.
        And I yield back.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentlelady yields back.
        Mr. Lynch.
        Mr. Lynch. Just a follow-up.
        Mr. Byrne, we also--following up on Ms. Plaskett's request,
    we also have a request in for documents regarding the Tribute
    Contracting, LLC, documents. And so we would like to have those
    documents provided by Tiffany Brown in order to get that
    contract. As you know, she is suing FEMA. She is seeking a $70
    million settlement. And the wedding caterer is also suing to
    get their money from her. And so these documents will be made
    available in the core proceedings. We are going to get them
    anyway, but it would be a sign of good faith if FEMA provided
    those documents rather than us have to go to the court and get
    those documents from them. Okay?
        Mr. Byrne. Yes, sir. I will take that back.
        Mr. Lynch. All right. Thank you.
        I yield back.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentleman yields back.
        I want to thank you. The votes--do you want to yield her
    the rest of your time?
        Mr. Lynch. Yeah. Sure. Sorry.
        Ms. Plaskett. Thank you.
        Mr. Sutton, thank you, again, as so many of my colleagues
    have thanked you, and all of the people who came to volunteer
    in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during the tragedies and
    the issues that we had after the hurricanes.
        You arrived, you said, about a week after Hurricane Maria
    hit Puerto Rico. What was your visual account? And what do you
    know about the food shortages that were going on there?
        Mr. Sutton. Well, the, you know, visual account, I mean,
    the island looked like a--not just a hurricane, a tornado hit.
    I mean, you are talking from power lines, houses. I mean, all
    that was left was the frame of a house, not a house.
        Ms. Plaskett. Sure. Because there are tornadoes inside
    hurricanes.
        Mr. Sutton. Oh, pretty much. I mean, this one, yeah, I
    would almost believe it the way it looked. I went there the
    year prior. And, you know, Puerto Rico is beautiful.
        Ms. Plaskett. So what about the food storage? Because I
    don't have a lot of time.
        Food shortages. Did you see any?
        Mr. Sutton. Oh, yeah. You know, most of the food that was
    there was available. You know, you are talking about San Juan
    being in immaculate shape. But outside of San Juan, nobody had
    food. No one had abilities to get that food either.
        Ms. Plaskett. And did you see any, or were you witness to
    anyone who lost their life during this time, not from injuries
    from the hurricane but potentially from food shortages?
        Mr. Sutton. Yes, ma'am. There were several elderly, young
    children under the age of 5. People who, you know, died of
    dehydration, died of malnutrition. And it is just, honestly,
    because the lack of supply of food and ability to get to the
    food. And a lot of those collection points for FEMA were ``You
    come to us. We don't come to you.''
        And the hard part is people lost their cars and buildings,
    and they live up on the mountains or----
        Ms. Plaskett. Right. Jeffrey Parks, who is a key member of
    the joint task force of Katrina, arrived in Puerto Rico around
    September 30 and stayed for 10 days. In his statement for the
    record, he concludes that the lack of communications in the
    aftermath of Hurricane Marie was, quote, ``the single largest
    response failure.''
        Mr. Sutton, do you agree with that assessment?
        Mr. Sutton. I completely agree with that.
        Ms. Plaskett. And why do you say that?
        Mr. Sutton. I mean, there was no communications. When I
    landed in the airport, the only communications were inside the
    airport.
        Ms. Plaskett. Right.
        Mr. Sutton. Even 15, 20 days after, the only forms of
    communication were inside of an RV in Eswado (ph). Outside of
    that, no communications.
        Ms. Plaskett. Mr. Byrne, I know that just trying to operate
    in the Virgin Islands right after the storm, I remember
    Jennifer and I were able to text a couple of times in between.
    But you found people congregating in one small area because the
    communications had gone out.
        Do you have communications in place? What are the plans if
    something like this happens again to get emergency
    communication out to the critical areas?
        Mr. Byrne. Yeah. We have taken steps. We have actually
    given satellite phones to all 78 mayors. But we are going to do
    more. We are trying to restore, get as much back of the
    existing system and strengthen it before the season starts.
    There is a huge effort under way for that. And that is really a
    public-private partnership, because the normal communication
    companies are also engaged in helping us get the powers and the
    towers back.
        Ms. Plaskett. And what about--you talk about the towers.
    The same Jeffrey Parks says that he wrote to us, that he did
    not see a single temporary cell tower in the 10 days that he
    was in Puerto Rico.
        How many temporary cell towers were installed within a
    month after Maria? And what is the plans in terms of temporary
    cell towers in the next instance?
        Mr. Byrne. I would have to get back to you with the numbers
    for that first month of how many temporary cell towers. But we
    are getting together. We have a summit where we are going to
    sit down with all the parts, the municipalities, the mayors,
    the governor's staff, and to come up with additional plans to
    make sure that we--no stone is left unturned in terms of being
    as ready as we can to get through, as I said earlier, what is
    going to be a--potentially a risky season.
        Ms. Plaskett. Mr. Chairman, I just am really grateful for
    you for having this hearing. I think it is really important for
    us to do these assessments now as we are coming up to the
    hurricane season. My concern is we have heard from the
    witnesses with regard to do we have microgrids in place? Will
    they be in place in time for us to be able to power back up as
    quickly as possible to get things going.
        You know, I worry about the people who were--areas where--
    especially devastated and people are living in marginal lives
    right now. People in Anna's Hope on St. Thomas and Coral Bay on
    St. Johns, Awim (ph) and White Lady on St. Croix, Vieques.
    People who live in Eduardo. Those are places that were
    completely obliterated after the hurricanes, and they are
    living on the edge as it stands. And my great concern is that
    this commit does what it needs to do to hold the Federal
    Government accountable, give them the tools that they need, the
    support and financing that is going to allow them to be on the
    ground if, God forbid, this should happen again.
        So thank you so much, gentlemen, for being here and being
    open and honest with us and getting this information back so
    that we can all do our own part to ensure that American lives
    are not lost and that the economy is continually moving.
        Thank you.
        Mr. DeSantis. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
        I want to thank the witnesses again for appearing before us
    today. The hearing record will remain open for 2 weeks for any
    member to submit a written opening statement or questions for
    the record.
        If there is no further business, without objection, the
    Subcommittee on National Security stands adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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