[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15526]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE RELIEF EFFORT IN PUERTO RICO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gallego) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, as millions in Puerto Rico 
trudged through squalor and sewage in search of food, as hospitals ran 
low on power and medicine, as homes lay in ruins and businesses 
remained swamped under feet of water, our Commander in Chief went 
golfing. As our brothers and sisters on the island suffered, our 
President sank putts and hit drives.
  As the gross inadequacy of his administration's response was revealed 
to a worldwide audience, the leader of the free world patted himself on 
the back. ``We have done a great job with an almost impossible 
situation,'' Trump tweeted.
  Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump has it backwards. He is not doing a great 
job despite an impossible situation; the Puerto Rican people are.
  Yesterday, on a belated visit to the island, Trump could have 
apologized. He could have promised a vast expansion of the Federal 
relief effort to match the vast and growing needs of the Puerto Rican 
people. Instead, he offered only blame and condescension. ``I hate to 
tell you, Puerto Rico,'' he says, ``but you are throwing our budget out 
of whack,'' said Trump.
  I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, but our President is dead wrong. He is the 
one who is throwing our budget out of whack with his tax cuts for the 
rich. He is the one who is throwing our government out of whack with 
his early-morning tweets and his childish temper tantrums. He is the 
one who is throwing our country out of whack with attacks on immigrants 
and people of color and the disabled and veterans and Gold Star 
parents, and on and on, and now, most recently, on the courageous 
leaders of Puerto Rico and the people of Puerto Rico. Such poor 
leadership, he says, of the ability of the mayor of San Juan and others 
in Puerto Rico.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure Donald Trump understands the meaning of 
the word ``leadership,'' especially in the wake of a natural disaster. 
Real leadership is about having the courage to do what is right and the 
compassion to do what is necessary to help others. It is about self-
sacrifice, not self-promotion. It is about putting our country first 
and your own ego second.
  Instead, yesterday we were treated to the bizarre spectacle of the 
President of the United States throwing rolls of paper towels into a 
crowd.
  Despite the millions in Puerto Rico wanting for electricity or basic 
necessities, he called his administration's response ``unbelievable'' 
and ``incredible.''
  Donald Trump even had the gall to congratulate Puerto Rico on not 
losing hundreds of lives like in a real catastrophe like Hurricane 
Katrina. Frankly, it is hard to recall a more callous statement from an 
American leader in my lifetime.
  Mr. Speaker, the outrageously poor response to the devastation in 
Puerto Rico is the best illustration yet that President Trump only 
cares about people who look like him or vote for him or make the kind 
of money that he makes.
  The American people, especially the 3.5 million U.S. citizens in 
Puerto Rico, deserve a President who is capable of common human 
decency, a President more concerned about his conduct in office than 
his coverage in the media, a President who understands that his base is 
every single one of us.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a few words in Spanish for 
the brave people of Puerto Rico.
  (English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)
  The Puerto Rican people are stronger than Donald Trump thinks.
  And they will come out of this crisis and prosper again.
  We can't wait any longer.
  We are with you.
  Los puertorriquenos son mas fuertes de lo que Donald Trump cree.
  Y ellos saldran de esta crisis y prosperaran de nuevo. No podemos 
esperar mas.
  Le debemos a la gente de la isla nuestro apoyo completo. Estamos con 
ustedes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  The gentleman from Arizona will provide a translation of his remarks 
to the Clerk.

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