[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS DISASTER RELIEF

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 5, 2017

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge this body to send urgent aid to 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and all of our Caribbean 
neighbors in its federal response to this year's devastating hurricane 
season.
  Hurricanes Harvey, Jose, Irma and now Maria have ravaged our southern 
border, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and our friends and 
neighbors in the Caribbean.
  Sadly, the pace of federal response in the Virgin Islands and Puerto 
Rico has been much too slow.
  Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Irma, a category 5 hurricane, 
decimated the Virgin Islands, residents are still having trouble 
receiving appropriate aid and commodities.
  Now, nearly two weeks after another category 5 storm tore through St. 
Croix, the U.S. Virgin Islands' three main islands have lost its 
economy, its physical infrastructure and scores of its people.
  Insufficient quantities of food and supplies, lack of power, 
extremely long fuel lines, and lack of communication and cell phone 
coverage have left the Virgin Islands utterly decimated.
  The Virgin Islands are in a humanitarian crisis, Mr. Speaker. No 
American citizen should be forced to endure these conditions, 
especially not with the level of resources at the disposal of our 
federal government.
  My heart breaks for these families. I urge my colleagues and the 
Trump Administration to fund all necessary resources not only to 
address the urgent humanitarian crisis but also the sustained 
commitment support funding necessary to help rebuild and restore 
infrastructure necessary for their economy and people to move forward.

                          ____________________