[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 163 (Tuesday, September 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 373--MARKING THE 4-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
  DEVASTATION OF PUERTO RICO AND THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS BY 
                            HURRICANE MARIA

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, 
Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Mr. Casey, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. 
Feinstein, Mr. Markey, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Van 
Hollen, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

                              S. Res. 373

       Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 
     landfall in Puerto Rico;
       Whereas Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 
     were still recovering from a direct hit by Hurricane Irma 
     when Hurricane Maria made landfall just 14 days later;
       Whereas, on September 20, 2021, the people of Puerto Rico 
     and the United States Virgin Islands living on the islands, 
     as well as those living in the mainland United States, will 
     commemorate the 4-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria;
       Whereas, after the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, 
     Hurricane Maria is the second deadliest storm recorded in 
     United States history;
       Whereas the people of Puerto Rico and the United States 
     Virgin Islands living in both the mainland United States and 
     on the islands of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
     Islands have shown an incredible and resilient spirit in 
     rebuilding after their record losses;
       Whereas Puerto Rico faced one of the longest blackouts in 
     United States history, during which millions of residents 
     were left without power and basic services for nearly a year, 
     triggering crises of physical and mental health, migration, 
     housing, and infrastructure;
       Whereas, 4 years since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 
     Puerto Rico, the electrical grid in Puerto Rico remains 
     unreliable, leaving millions of people without a secure 
     source of power as they suffer intermittent brownouts and 
     blackouts;
       Whereas, due to the impacts of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, 
     thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the United States 
     Virgin Islands still have blue tarps over their roofs;
       Whereas, as a result of Hurricane Maria, hundreds of 
     thousands of Puerto Ricans were uprooted, and some Puerto 
     Ricans have relocated to the mainland United States;
       Whereas, due to unaddressed damage to homes in Puerto Rico, 
     hundreds of Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria 
     continue to need housing assistance from the territorial 
     government and the Federal Government;
       Whereas the economic health of Puerto Rico continues to 
     waiver as the preexisting debt crisis was exacerbated by the 
     impact of Hurricane Maria;
       Whereas Hurricane Maria is the third most costly tropical 
     cyclone in United States history, with damages estimated at 
     $98,100,000,000;
       Whereas the Federal Government has allocated approximately 
     $71,000,000,000 in disaster-relief funding to help the people 
     of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands rebuild 
     from other disasters that have impacted the islands since 
     Hurricane Maria;
       Whereas, in Puerto Rico, the official death toll from 
     Hurricane Maria stands at 2,975 victims, although some 
     academic estimates place the toll at 4,645;
       Whereas many of the underlying vulnerabilities contributing 
     to the massive death toll in Puerto Rico are still present, 
     including an underfunded healthcare system and a shortage of 
     medical physicians and specialists;
       Whereas the residents of Vieques, Puerto Rico, which number 
     more than 8,000, lost the primary hospital and do not have an 
     adequate and comprehensive healthcare facility;
       Whereas, in a September 2020 report, the Office of the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security 
     found that the Federal Emergency and Management Agency (in 
     this preamble referred to as ``FEMA'') mismanaged the 
     distribution of commodities in response to Hurricanes Irma 
     and Maria in Puerto Rico;
       Whereas FEMA lost visibility of approximately 38 percent of 
     its commodity shipments to Puerto Rico, worth an estimated 
     $257,000,000;
       Whereas, in an April 2021 report, the Office of the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development found that the administration of President Donald 
     Trump created bureaucratic hurdles that delayed approximately 
     $20,000,000,000 in hurricane disaster recovery and mitigation 
     funds to Puerto Rico;
       Whereas Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 
     continue to battle with climate change, which has intensified 
     tropical cyclones, rising temperatures, coastal erosion, 
     droughts, and flash floods, among other climate events;
       Whereas Puerto Rico continues to address and respond to 
     other disasters, including the earthquakes of 2020 and the 
     COVID-19 pandemic; and
       Whereas millions of Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders 
     still grapple with the physical, emotional, and economic 
     damages caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) remains steadfast in its commitment to the people of 
     Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands to assist in 
     restoring the islands to their full potential; and
       (2) resolutely assures that it will not abandon the plight 
     of--
       (A) the millions of citizens of the United States living in 
     Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands; and
       (B) the citizens of the United States who have relocated 
     from Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands to the 
     mainland United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

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