[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 107 (Thursday, June 25, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WATER CRISIS IN PUERTO RICO

  (Mr. HERNANDEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, Puerto Rico faces a water crisis, and, 
ironically, the Governor's office is drowning.
  Last week, decades of mismanagement and poor maintenance left 
hundreds of thousands, including me and my family, without water.
  There was a stench, but it was not just the stench of unflushed 
toilets. It was the stench of corruption.
  The former Secretary of Economic Development filed a criminal 
complaint against the Governor's chief of staff for alleged 
intervention in a government bidding process.
  When the Governor testified in the Senate last week, Senator Mike Lee 
asked her: How can Congress be assured that Federal funds sent to 
Puerto Rico are not being misused?
  I would tell Senator Lee: The people of Puerto Rico share your 
concern.
  On behalf of the honest, hardworking majority of Puerto Ricans, I 
tell this Chamber: We will not be quiet. We will not stand still. We 
will fight to restore integrity in public service in the great 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

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