[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3160-H3161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REBUILDING EFFORTS IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, the rebuilding efforts of the U.S. Virgin 
Islands will require an extraordinary level of coordination and 
cooperation between the local government and the Federal Government. We 
have, in this moment, both the opportunity and the responsibility to 
ensure that the greatest good emerges from the calamity to our Virgin 
Islands.

[[Page H3161]]

  Yesterday, HUD awarded $1.6 billion to help the Virgin Islands to 
recover after the hurricanes. These recovery funds awarded were 
provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster 
Recovery Program and are a part of the hard-fought battle here in 
Congress to appropriate funding, specifically to the territories.
  The Virgin Islands normally receives a mere $1 million from this 
fund. This crucial funding will help us to address the disaster-related 
deficiencies in housing, public service, and infrastructure as 
determined by local officials with citizen input.
  I am imploring our local government to engage the community and have 
strategic plans in this. Building more resilient infrastructure in the 
Virgin Islands is critical to future economic stability. We must 
rebuild the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico the right way.
  Our children are presently in schools in the Virgin Islands 4 hours 
per day as they share space because of the tremendous loss of 
infrastructure. The negligence leading to inadequate care and oversight 
of our loved ones is unacceptable. The stress of hurricanes does not 
need to be exacerbated by inefficient evacuation protocols and lack of 
transparency.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Congress and others to do what is necessary, to 
support the Virgin Islands and others in rebuilding.

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