III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 445 

Marking the 6-month anniversary of the devastation of Puerto Rico and 

the United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane Maria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CASEY, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. NELSON, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, and 

Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 

and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Marking the 6-month anniversary of the devastation of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane Maria. 

Whereas, on September 13, 2017, the National Hurricane 

Center began tracking a tropical wave that ultimately became Hurricane Maria; 

Whereas Hurricane Maria became the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical 

storm of the 2017 season; 

Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 

landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sustained wind speeds of 155 miles per hour; 


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•SRES 445 ATS 

Whereas Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the United 

States Virgin Islands (referred to in this preamble as the 

‘‘U.S. Virgin Islands’’) just 14 days after Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands were hit by Hurricane Irma; 

Whereas, on March 20, 2018, the people of the United States 

that live in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will 

mark 6 months since Hurricane Maria nearly destroyed 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; 

Whereas, 6 months since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 

Puerto Rico, more than 120,000 people are still without 

electricity, and hundreds of thousands of people continue 

to lose power on a temporary basis; 

Whereas Puerto Rico remains under a state of emergency 

and reconstruction efforts are still underway; 

Whereas tens of thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands are still awaiting permanent shelter; 

Whereas more than 67,000 households in Puerto Rico and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands needed blue roof tarps as a form 

of temporary roofing for homes; 

Whereas Puerto Rico was struggling with a severe debt crisis 

and a deteriorating health care system prior to Hurricane 

Maria, the effects of which have exacerbated the suffering 

in Puerto Rico; 

Whereas more than 700,000 cubic yards of debris, or the 

equivalent of 190 Olympic-sized swimming pools, have 

been collected in the U.S. Virgin Islands; 

Whereas approximately 3,900,000 cubic yards of debris need 

removal from Puerto Rico; 


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•SRES 445 ATS 

Whereas, when calculating customer hours of lost electricity 

service, Puerto Rico is experiencing the longest blackout 

in the history of the United States; 

Whereas thousands of Puerto Ricans have relocated to the 

mainland of the United States as a result of Hurricane 

Maria; 

Whereas the official death toll from Hurricane Maria stands 

at 64 victims in Puerto Rico; and 

Whereas research suggests that the actual direct and indirect 

death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico may be 

more than 1,000 victims: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) remains profoundly concerned with the con3 tinuing crisis plaguing Puerto Rico and the United 

4 States Virgin Islands (referred to in this resolving 

5 clause as the ‘‘U.S. Virgin Islands’’) as a result of 

6 Hurricane Maria; and 

7 (2) pledges continued support to— 

8 (A) the millions of citizens of the United 

9 States living in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Vir10 gin Islands; and 

11 (B) to the citizens of the United States 

12 who have relocated from Puerto Rico and the 

13 U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland of the 

14 United States in the aftermath of Hurricane 

15 Maria. 

Æ 


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