[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Puerto Rico

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, today, my thoughts are with all our 
fellow Americans in Puerto Rico--and all communities across the 
Caribbean--battered by the destruction of Hurricane Fiona. As of this 
morning, well over a million residents on the island remain without 
power, and two-thirds remain without running water.
  In a short while, I will get on the phone with the FEMA Administrator 
and urge that they be ready to approve temporary 100 percent Federal 
cost share for all emergency protective services that Puerto Rico 
conducts in the coming days. That means covering the island's costs for 
distributing food and water, disaster operations, and emergency medical 
care. Right now, the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund has about $15 billion as 
of late last week--a fund we Democrats fought extremely hard to secure.
  I will also join with my colleagues in the New York delegation to 
send FEMA a letter calling on them to be ready to support Puerto Rico 
on any upcoming request for aid.
  Five years--almost exactly 5 years to the day--after Puerto Rico was 
devastated by Hurricane Maria, the Federal Government has a 
responsibility to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the 
previous administration. The Federal response should be swift, robust, 
and continued for as long as the island needs.