[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SUPPORT PUERTO RICO EARTHQUAKE SUPPLEMENTAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the 
thousands of our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters surviving the loss 
and trauma of ongoing natural disasters that have ravaged the island of 
Puerto Rico, the youth, the elderly, the ill, the unhoused, those in 
poverty, and those living with disabilities who find themselves 
disproportionately harmed by food and healthcare insecurity, frequent 
power outages, infrastructure collapse, and barriers to transparency.
  Just last month, 13-year-old Jaideliz Moreno Ventura died due to 
chronic medical supply shortages. The only medical center on her 
island, Vieques, has not reopened its doors since Hurricane Maria 3 
years ago.
  To this day, 240,000 students and their educators must stay home 
because their schools are still too unsafe to open, and 5,000 families 
remain displaced from their homes.
  But the fear and anguish are not limited to those remaining on the 
island. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts proudly boasts the fifth 
largest Puerto Rican community in the country, and in the Massachusetts 
Seventh Congressional District, I represent 35,000 Puerto Ricans.
  I have borne witness to both the strength and the pain of those who 
were displaced after Hurricane Maria who now call Boston home and those 
Puerto Ricans who have called Boston home for decades who fear for 
their family members who are still on the island. They share with me 
their ongoing fear for their families in Puerto Rico facing ongoing 
threats to their homes and their lives.
  For too long, this administration has turned its back on the people 
of Puerto Rico. It is shameful, and we must not allow it to continue.
  I am grateful for the leadership of Chairwoman Lowey and Chairman 
Neal in working to organize this much-needed funding package that we 
will vote on later today. I also recognize my colleague from New York, 
Representative Velazquez, for her unwavering love, which has informed 
her unwavering fight for the island.
  In my own district, I thank IBA, Chelsea Collaborative, Somos de 
Sabana Grande, the Puerto Rican Veterans Association, and many more. I 
urge my colleagues to support this package, H.R. 5687.

                          ____________________