[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 445--MARKING THE 6-MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
  DEVASTATION OF PUERTO RICO AND THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS BY 
                            HURRICANE MARIA

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Casey, Ms. 
Cortez Masto, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Harris, Mr. Nelson, Mr. 
Schumer, Ms. Warren, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Wyden) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 445

       Whereas, on September 13, 2017, the National Hurricane 
     Center began tracking a tropical wave that ultimately became 
     Hurricane Maria;
       Whereas Hurricane Maria became the tenth most intense 
     Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical 
     storm of the 2017 season;
       Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 
     landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sustained 
     wind speeds of 155 miles per hour;
       Whereas Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the United 
     States Virgin Islands (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``U.S. Virgin Islands'') just 14 days after Puerto Rico and 
     the U.S. Virgin Islands were hit by Hurricane Irma;
       Whereas, on March 20, 2018, the people of the United States 
     that live in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will 
     mark 6 months since Hurricane Maria nearly destroyed Puerto 
     Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands;
       Whereas, 6 months since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 
     Puerto Rico, more than 120,000 people are still without 
     electricity, and hundreds of thousands of people continue to 
     lose power on a temporary basis;
       Whereas Puerto Rico remains under a state of emergency and 
     reconstruction efforts are still underway;
       Whereas tens of thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the 
     U.S. Virgin Islands are still awaiting permanent shelter;
       Whereas more than 67,000 households in Puerto Rico and the 
     U.S. Virgin Islands needed blue roof tarps as a form of 
     temporary roofing for homes;
       Whereas Puerto Rico was struggling with a severe debt 
     crisis and a deteriorating health care system prior to 
     Hurricane Maria, the effects of which have exacerbated the 
     suffering in Puerto Rico;
       Whereas more than 700,000 cubic yards of debris, or the 
     equivalent of 190 Olympic-sized swimming pools, have been 
     collected in the U.S. Virgin Islands;
       Whereas approximately 3,900,000 cubic yards of debris need 
     removal from Puerto Rico;
       Whereas, when calculating customer hours of lost 
     electricity service, Puerto Rico is experiencing the longest 
     blackout in the history of the United States;
       Whereas thousands of Puerto Ricans have relocated to the 
     mainland of the United States as a result of Hurricane Maria;
       Whereas the official death toll from Hurricane Maria stands 
     at 64 victims in Puerto Rico; and
       Whereas research suggests that the actual direct and 
     indirect death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico may 
     be more than 1,000 victims: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) remains profoundly concerned with the continuing crisis 
     plaguing Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 
     (referred to in this resolving clause as the ``U.S. Virgin 
     Islands'') as a result of Hurricane Maria; and
       (2) pledges continued support to--
       (A) the millions of citizens of the United States living in 
     Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
       (B) to the citizens of the United States who have relocated 
     from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland 
     of the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

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