[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Disaster Relief

  Madam President, on another issue, yesterday we heard Leader 
McConnell say he would like to get a disaster relief package done by 
Memorial Day. Democrats in this Chamber are going to hold him to that 
standard, and we will make sure the package provided will have funding 
for all affected communities, from Hawaii all the way to Puerto Rico.
  My colleagues from the Midwest and South are starting to feel the 
heat. According to press reports, they are going to Leader McConnell 
and saying, ``We have to get something done,'' because they realize, 
justifiably, that with each passing week, the cost of inaction grows. 
Cities in Iowa have endured another round of flooding. In the South, 
the hurricane season is around the corner. We need to get disaster aid 
out the door.
  When you want to know why it hasn't happened, first and foremost, it 
is because President Trump disrupted a bipartisan bill that would have 
passed a month and a half ago and said: No aid for Puerto Rico. Second, 
our Republican colleagues in the Midwest and in the South willingly 
went along with that, thinking they could roll over Puerto Rico, roll 
over the House, and roll over Democrats in the Senate.
  Well, now you have learned that is not happening. So work with us on 
a bipartisan package. We want to get it done. We want to see aid go to 
every part of the country, including the Midwest, including the South, 
including Florida, and including Texas, but Puerto Rico must be treated 
similarly and fairly.
  I promise that we could solve this impasse in a moment. If 
Republicans in the Senate agree to treat Puerto Rico fairly, a disaster 
package will pass this Chamber like a hot knife through butter.
  Our position is very simple: Democrats support a package for disaster 
relief that provides support for all affected Americans: Hawaii, 
California, Iowa, the South, the Atlantic coast, the Pacific islands, 
and the island of Puerto Rico, and we are not going to move forward 
unless everyone is included and everyone is treated fairly.