[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 157 (Monday, October 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H7653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CONGRESS MUST PROVIDE RELIEF TO PUERTO RICO

  (Ms. BARRAGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because American citizens are 
suffering in Puerto Rico. Twelve days after Hurricane Maria made 
landfall, more than half of the island's residents are still without 
running water.
  Low-income communities have been hit especially hard. They are trying 
to survive through unsafe and unsanitary conditions, where the basics 
of life can be impossible to find.
  After an earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, I was proud to see that 
America deployed every available resource the very next day at the 
crack of dawn to help out. But I wonder why the same response wasn't 
deployed to help Americans in Puerto Rico.
  I call on the administration and Congress to ensure that Puerto Rico 
receives the emergency aid it needs now so we don't lose more American 
lives to the storm.
  Congress must also provide real relief and aid to our brothers and 
sisters there. The situation in Puerto Rico is dire, and our fellow 
Americans are counting on us to act now.

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