Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

September 22, 2022

The President. Can they see us? All right. Can the Governor's table see us? I don't think.

[*At this point, Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi of Puerto Rico spoke briefly via videoconference as follows.*]

Gov. Pierluisi. Yes, Iââ

The President. Good to see you all. Look, I'm here because we're laser-focused on what's happening to the people of Puerto Rico again. We were just talkingâalmost to the day, almostâ at least to the week, andâ5 years after Hurricane Maria, which was devastating.

And as I told you, Gov, when we spoke earlier this week, we're surging Federal resources to Puerto Rico, and we'll do everythingâeverythingâwe can to meet the urgent needs you have.

And we know they're real and they're significant. And we're there. And I know, bad joke, "I'm from the Federal Government, and I'm here to help." But we really are. And I think weâI hope you're satisfied with the response so far.

We'll be with the Puerto Ricoâthe folks of Puerto Rico now and until this is done and until we recover. And my wife and I we were talking about it last night. We pray for theâI know the death toll is up a little bitâbut you know, all the people displaced and all the people who are just scared to death, knowing what happened before. Especially if you've been through it last time, it's got to be incredibly intimidating.

And on Sunday, even before the storm made landfall, I approved that declaration of disasterâthe emergency disaster declaration, bringing the full force of the Federal Government to respond, knowing full well the catastrophic effectsâhow catastrophic they could be on communities that haven't even fully recovered from the last time, Gov, as you and I talked about. Thank you.

And look, I asked FEMA Administrator Criswellâand she's right here with meâto go down herself and assess the situation and make sure the people of Puerto Rico have everythingâ everythingâthey could possibly need that we can provide to help them get through this. And hundreds of FEMA and Federal personnel are now there, including search and rescue teams, bilingual Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams, and the U.S. Corps power restoration experts.

And I especially want to thank the local first respondersâI want to say that againâthe local first responders. I want to thank them, including the Puerto Rican National Guard, who have been working around the clock.

And disasters are traumatic for survivors, but they're also traumatic for responders. It's real.

And to experience so many disasters in the course of 5 years, it takes its toll.

FEMA is making crisis counselors available across Puerto Rico, survivors and responders alike. And so please take advantage of these resources. It's okay to ask for help. This is a place you should ask for help. There's nothingâthere's no credit for not asking for the help. Ask for help if you need it.

And I want to thank the New York congressional delegation and Congresswoman GonzÃ¡lez- ColÃ³n for her being here today. In particular, I want to thank the Governor, Governor Hochul, and Mayor Adams who are here. They've sent State troopers, emergency responders from New York

to help brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico. And there's a lot of them, I think. Maybe New York has about the largest Puerto Rican population in the country. And the State, I think, has the second largest or close to that, if I'm not mistaken.

Governor Kathleen C. Hochul of New York. Over a million.

The President. Over a million.

Andâbut we're all in this together, I promise you, Gov. Thisâwe don't view this as some distant problem.

And power is slowly returning, but it's returning. And more help is coming from the utilities and the mainland. And we've got water and other supplies available as well. And there's still dozens of shelters that are still available and open.

But too many homes and businesses are still without power, without clean drinking water. And yesterday, at the Governor's request, I immediately approved an expedited major disaster declaration to provide individual and public assistance to help people and communities recover from it.

And this declaration is going toâwe'll get Federal resources there quickly. And it's going to help people start rebuilding their lives. And as part of the declaration, I'm announcing today that I've authorized 100 percentâ100 percent Federal funding forââ

Gov. Pierluisi. Yes.

The President. ââdebris removal, search and rescue, power and water restoration, shelter and food for the whole month. One hundred percent.

So there's no cost at all, Governor, to you. I mean, there's a significant cost, I knowâ emotional cost and others. But whether it'sâit's 100-percent funding for debris removal, search and rescue, power and water restoration, and shelter and food for the month.

And to the people of Puerto Rico who are still hurting from Hurricane Maria 5 years later, I know that we'reâtheyâthey should know that thisâwe are with you. We're not going to walk away. We mean it. And I like the fact that Deanneâshe's going to speak in a minuteâbut had prepped for this as well, gettingâknowing what had to be done.

And so, you know, going forward, Gov, I told you: You have the phone number. You can call me, personally, anytime. And I mean it.

This is really, really, really important to us. Really important to us. And so we're not goingâ

â

Gov. Pierluisi. Thank you.

The President. ââto walk away.

And with that, let me say God bless the people of Puerto Rico and our troops. And I'm going to now turn it over to the FEMA Administrator.

Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Bennett Criswell. All right, thank

you, Mr. President.

Q. Will you travel to Puerto Rico, sir?

Administrator Criswell. I would like to first welcomeââ

The President. Let'sâwe'll wait till the press leaves.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. at the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 2 office on the 52d floor of One World Trade Center.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Hurricane Fiona recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, briefing in New York City.

Locations: New York City.

Names: Adams, Eric L.; Biden, Jill T.; Criswell, Deanne Bennett; GonzÃ¡lez-ColÃ³n, Jenniffer A.; Hochul, Kathleen C.; Pierluisi, Pedro R.

Subjects: Armed Forces, U.S. : National Guard; Army, Department of the : U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Disaster assistance : Puerto Rico; Health and medical care : Mental health programs and services; Homeland Security, Department of : Emergency Management Agency, Federal; Natural disasters : Hurricane Fiona; Natural disasters : Response and recovery efforts; New York

: Governor; New York : President's visits; Puerto Rico : Disaster assistance; Puerto Rico : Governor; Puerto Rico : Hurricane Fiona, damage and recovery efforts.

DCPD Number: DCPD202200825.