[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6275-S6276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Recovery Effort

  Mr. President, I want to speak on another matter, and that is the 
tragedy related to natural disasters we have seen visited on our 
country, the devastating impacts that Hurricanes Irma and Maria have 
had on the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Puerto Rico, the current relief 
efforts that are underway on those islands, and how we might help in 
the long term to rebuild, particularly as it relates to their electric 
grid and their power sector.
  Mr. President, as the Presiding Officer serves on the Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee, I have the honor of being the chairman of 
that Committee, and that is the committee of jurisdiction for our 
territories.
  Our committee's history dates back to 1816, when it was then called 
the Committee on Public Lands. The acquisition of Puerto Rico, the 
Philippines, and Guam in 1898, through the Treaty of Paris, led to the 
creation of the Committee on Insular Affairs in 1899. The U.S. Virgin 
Islands were included in that committee's jurisdiction following their 
purchase from Denmark in 1917.
  In 1946, the Committee on Public Lands and the Committee on Insular 
Affairs merged to form the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. 
In 1977, the committees were again reorganized, leading to the current 
structure of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Our committee has had the proud distinction of working with the 
territories for the last 70-plus years. Certainly, following Hurricanes 
Irma and Maria, we are committed to upholding our responsibilities to 
the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  Perhaps it is because I was born in a territory--I need to actually 
look this up; it may be that I am the only Member of Congress or Member 
in the Senate who was actually born in a territory--but I feel an 
affinity. One would not think there is much connection between a small 
island territory like Puerto Rico and the large landmass that we have 
in Alaska, but in many ways, Alaska is also islanded in the sense that 
we are not part of the continental 48. So I do follow with great 
interest and care how Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are 
included.
  With the current focus almost entirely on Puerto Rico right now, it 
can seem like a distant memory that only 2 weeks ago, before Hurricane 
Maria, we had Hurricane Irma, which hit the islands of St. Thomas and 
St. John as a category 5 hurricane. One category 5 is bad enough, but 
then to have a second category 5 hurricane hit just 2 weeks later, this 
time impacting the island of St. Croix, is almost unfathomable.
  The devastation we have seen in both the Virgin Islands and Puerto 
Rico can seem overwhelming. Relief operations for the islands are 
different from what you have with the mainland. When you recognize how 
you move to accommodate relief, everything has to be brought in by ship 
or by plane. You don't have the convoys of trucks rolling down the 
highway from an adjoining State. You don't have the ability to take 
alternative routes to reach the affected areas. Once goods are 
delivered to ports, for instance, it is another challenge, then, to get 
them from the port for inland distribution.
  Even under normal operating conditions, moving the amount of 
containers that have flooded into the territories would be a challenge, 
but when you add into it the debris, the downed power lines, the 
washed-out bridges and roads, the lack of power, and the driver 
shortages, the challenges become colossal.
  Then you have other limiting factors. You have competition for hotel 
rooms and other lodging as you bring in relief workers to go to the 
islands while refugees who have lost their homes try to leave. Again, 
the logistics are almost overwhelming; it is a logistical nightmare.
  Despite these very considerable hurdles, we do see that progress is 
being made. According to recent reports from the Army Corps of 
Engineers, Federal and local response crews have been working to reopen 
the ports and runways. In some cases, we have seen sunken ships that 
need to be removed before a port can begin operations again.
  In Puerto Rico, 13 of 16 ports are open or open with restrictions. In 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, five of nine ports are open or open with 
restrictions.
  In addition, 15 of 17 priority dams in Puerto Rico have already been 
inspected. In the case of Guajataca Dam, it is in the process of being 
reinforced. The dam's spillway continues to erode. Rainfall has 
increased the water level in the reservoir. We have seen that the 
debris and the downed power lines need to be removed to allow 
helicopters to place 44 concrete barriers within the spillway channel. 
In fact, 900 super sandbags are on their way. Pumps and piping are 
being procured to help decrease the water level. There are a lot of 
hands on deck there.
  For electricity, as of October 1, 5 percent of customers in Puerto 
Rico have had their power restored. The Puerto Rico electric utility 
expects to have power restored to 15 percent of customers over the next 
2 weeks.
  I looked at this aspect of it and recognize that it is still pretty 
warm in Puerto Rico. I checked the weather this afternoon, and it is 87 
degrees. Over the next couple of days, it will be 93 degrees. Making 
sure that folks have power, have an ability to keep fans, to have air 
conditioning--this is critical.
  Assessments show significant damage to the transmission and 
distribution systems, so, again, a great deal of work is yet underway 
there.
  In the Virgin Islands, 15 percent of customers in St. Thomas and 10 
percent of customers in St. Croix have had their power restored. This 
includes the airports and the hospitals.
  On the hospitals, I would note that both the hospitals in the U.S. 
Virgin Islands--one in St. Thomas and one in St. Croix--have sustained 
heavy damage and may need to be replaced. Again, long term, moving 
forward, this is critical infrastructure.
  We do know that in the immediate term, the primary relief that 
Congress can provide is through our appropriations process. We will 
soon be considering another tranche of disaster relief funds so that 
those impacted by these hurricanes have the food, water, and medicine 
they need as recovery efforts continue.
  Other options, such as making the rum tax cover-over payments 
permanent and increasing or lifting the cap on community disaster loans 
may also need to be considered as ways to get the islands back on their 
feet.
  Another part of our responsibility, though, is to look at potential 
long-term solutions to persistent problems. In the case of Puerto Rico, 
it is their antiquated electric grid and power generation system.
  I have had many conversations with many colleagues in these past 
couple of weeks. I am concerned that current disaster recovery rules 
may mandate that the damaged or destroyed entity be restored with 
similar material, compared to its condition prior to the disaster. What 
may seem like a good, general rule of thumb in some scenarios, like 
this one--I don't think it makes a lot of sense. Why would we consider 
spending hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild what was an 
inefficient, unreliable electric power grid in Puerto Rico?
  Making sure that we do right going forward is important for us. I am 
going to be meeting with officials with the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. They have been tasked by FEMA with rebuilding Puerto Rico's 
electricity grid. I am going to meet with the Army Corps and the 
Department of Energy to see if there is a way to modernize Puerto 
Rico's grid during its rebuild, whether by administrative or 
legislative action. I think we need to look at different considerations 
moving forward.
  There has been a discussion about whether it makes more sense to bury 
transmission lines rather than rebuild towers. We need to look at 
microgrids and consider whether they should be developed to provide 
power to communities throughout the island even if the

[[Page S6276]]

islandwide grid is down. This is something our committee has been 
keenly focused on--the application of microgrids and how they might be 
better utilized.
  I would note on this matter that the urban area of Mayaguez is 
currently receiving power from the hydro-gas plant that is located 
within its municipality. It is essentially its own microgrid. But the 
damaged transmission lines prevent electricity from moving to other 
municipalities across the island.
  There are other considerations, including the role that distributed 
generation plays. Can these Federal entities work with the Puerto Rico 
Electric Power Authority, PREPA, to develop a demonstration project for 
the island that would make the grid more efficient, more reliable, 
reduce the cost of electricity to consumers? These are all things that 
need to be considered. We had a hearing in the Energy Committee this 
morning on energy storage technologies, and it was mentioned there that 
regional technology demonstrations might be particularly helpful for 
Puerto Rico at this time.

  I intend to visit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with other 
Members a few weeks from now. We know President Trump is there today. 
We are going to wait until the situation has stabilized just a bit more 
to allow for these relief efforts to continue. When we have an 
opportunity to observe the situation ourselves, I think it is worth 
noting that we will, on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, be 
holding a hearing on the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on both 
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and I anticipate we will be 
doing that in the coming weeks. We want to look at not only the damage 
caused and where recovery efforts stand but also lessons learned as 
well as opportunities moving forward as to how we can rebuild Puerto 
Rico's electric grid to better than it was before so it does have a 
resiliency and it does have a sustainability that I think is imperative 
moving forward.
  We recognize that the islands have faced a real tragedy in this 
natural disaster, but, from this, can we work quickly to stabilize 
things in the short term but allow this to be an opportunity to think 
about Puerto Rico's long-term energy future--an energy future that is 
more resilient and is more sustainable.
  So our thoughts and prayers are with all who were impacted by these 
incredibly powerful storms as they dig out, as they rebuild, as they 
restart their lives, and just as we will take care of the people of 
Texas and Louisiana and Florida, I want to make sure the people of 
Puerto Rico and the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands know we stand 
united with them during these exceptionally difficult times and that we 
will work with them as partners to make their islands stronger, more 
resilient, and better prepared for whatever the future may bring them.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I would like to start by thanking Senator 
Murkowski for her leadership as chairman of the Natural Resources 
Committee, on which I also serve, in addressing some of the long-term 
needs of Puerto Rico.