[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8599-H8600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PUERTO RICO 6 WEEKS AFTER HURRICANE MARIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, Monday I returned from my third trip to 
Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria devastated the island almost 2 months 
ago.
  I wish I could report that a lot of progress is being made, but I 
can't. It is still a disaster, and it is a stain on the reputation of 
the United States of America.
  Most places don't have power. Generators, the sound you hear humming 
in every corner of the island like metallic coquis, are running ragged 
from overuse.
  In many places, the water is not on because the power is not on to 
pump it, and drinkable water mixes with sewer water all over the 
island. As you can see from this picture, people are tapping mountain 
springs and, in this case, are using it mostly for laundry, thank 
goodness, because the mountain water in many cases is contaminated from 
humans and animals.
  This man is a police officer, first responder, but he is learning to 
make do just like every other Puerto Rican family. Everywhere you go, 
you see Puerto Ricans making do.
  So think about your life without power, cell service, water, lights, 
fans, in some cases food. Imagine the dialysis patient or the elderly 
man in an electric wheelchair who uses oxygen tanks to breathe. I met 
those people in Puerto Rico.
  How do you get to physical therapy or regular prenatal visits when 
there are still roads and bridges that have simply vanished?
  On the one hand, when I am in Puerto Rico, I am confronted by the 
very best of mankind, the people who are helping strangers, feeding 
their neighbors, and pitching in wherever they can.
  On the other hand, when I am in Puerto Rico, I am confronted with the 
human tragedy of people who, like all of us, depend on the government 
for basic assistance and help after a major disaster and have received 
nothing.
  Yes, the damage is massive, but there is no task Americans cannot 
accomplish if we put our minds and backs into it.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the Head Start building in Loiza. As you can 
see, the roof is torn up and there is metal sheeting that was blown 
around. The people in Loiza are forming a brigade to rebuild the 
structure so they can reopen the Head Start building.
  One of the things I was doing in Loiza was bringing money to get them 
started, raised by the Puerto Rican Agenda in Chicago from the people 
of Chicago. Individuals in Chicago are investing in the well-being of 
people in Loiza. They have never met them, but they are investing in 
them.
  They are not calling in expensive contractors or companies from 
Montana, and they are not waiting for the folks from FEMA or the U.S. 
military. They are not waiting for Donald Trump to grant Puerto Ricans 
a little more time now that he has made it clear that he will not 
personally give them his grade A help forever. Nope. The people of 
Chicago are getting help to the people of Puerto Rico before any 
official resources are coming to their rescue.
  It boggles the mind that it has come to this.
  Here is another more difficult case. A bridge and a road were washed 
away by the storm. This is near Jayuya, Puerto Rico, but it could be 
almost anywhere on the island. More than 6 weeks after the storm and 
nothing, not even orange cones or a guardrail to keep people from 
driving off into danger.
  If you live up the side of this hill, you are not going anywhere any 
time soon until something changes, because the Army Corps of Engineers 
has decided just to not show up and are missing in action.
  Mr. Speaker, I should not have to give this speech almost 2 months 
after the storm. We should have accomplished much more. The people of 
Puerto Rico pretty much understand that President Trump doesn't want to 
help them and really doesn't care.
  The passports and documents that they have that say citizens of the 
United States should have been printed with small print that says: Yes, 
Puerto Ricans are citizens of the U.S. for the purposes of being 
drafted and going to war, but not when it comes to being helped.

[[Page H8600]]

  Puerto Ricans are coming to grips with how little they can expect 
from the President and his administration.
  They are finding ways to make do, just as the people of Chicago are 
making do by sending their own help in their own way. It shouldn't have 
had to come to this, but it has.
  Puerto Ricans are learning to make do, just like these two young 
women who are getting married on the beach in Vega Alta, Cerro Gordo. I 
met them. They let me take this picture.
  Life goes on, even when the government has turned its back on them.

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