[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 82 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H3851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                   PASS A DISASTER SUPPLEMENTAL BILL

  (Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I think it is urgent 
for Congress to approve the disaster supplemental bill.
  Although I welcome the House version, I am still waiting on the 
Senate side to work a final solution.
  The more that passage is delayed, the longer our communities will 
wait because just passing the appropriation is the beginning of a 
drawn-out process.
  I know my constituents are still waiting for the $600 million for the 
Nutritional Assistance Program that I have long been advocating. That 
will cover the gap in funding under the supplemental appropriations we 
made immediately after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
  As of last month, those residents who have not fully recovered are 
already seeing a decrease in benefits because we have not yet passed 
the disaster bill.
  For example, 20 months later, of some $42 billion allocated to Puerto 
Rico, just $12 billion has been outlaid. That means that we have work 
to do, and this funding is still being reviewed with great scrutiny 
from FEMA, HUD, and OMB. That is the reason I do believe we should move 
across aisles to make this happen.

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