[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15781]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   PRAISING PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL GUARD FOR HELPING WITH PUERTO RICO 
                             RELIEF EFFORTS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend 42 
members of the Pennsylvania National Guard who are currently in Puerto 
Rico assisting with hurricane relief efforts.
  Thousands of National Guard members are working in both Puerto Rico 
and the Virgin Islands to help our fellow Americans recover from 
devastating hurricanes.
  Hurricane Maria, with its Category 5 winds, was the fifth strongest 
storm to ever hit the U.S. and the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico 
in 80 years. What it left behind was vast devastation and great damage 
to infrastructure and energy distribution systems.
  Mr. Speaker, I am tremendously proud of our Pennsylvania Guardsmen 
who are on the ground assisting with this humanitarian disaster. They 
welcomed the call to action and are working to restore Puerto Rico's 
infrastructure, install additional telecommunications equipment to 
connect families and businesses, and deliver more than 300 generators 
to provide electricity to those who need it.
  We are working on rebuilding, and the Pennsylvania National Guard is 
there to aid in the recovery effort. It is the American way to have all 
hands on deck, and I am grateful for their efforts.

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