III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 373 

Marking the 4-year anniversary of the devastation of Puerto Rico and the 

United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane Maria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Marking the 4-year anniversary of the devastation of Puerto 

Rico and the United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane 

Maria. 

Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 

landfall in Puerto Rico; 

Whereas Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 

were still recovering from a direct hit by Hurricane Irma 

when Hurricane Maria made landfall just 14 days later; 

Whereas, on September 20, 2021, the people of Puerto Rico 

and the United States Virgin Islands living on the islands, as well as those living in the mainland United 


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•SRES 373 IS 

States, will commemorate the 4-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria; 

Whereas, after the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, Hurricane Maria is the second deadliest storm recorded in 

United States history; 

Whereas the people of Puerto Rico and the United States 

Virgin Islands living in both the mainland United States 

and on the islands of Puerto Rico and the United States 

Virgin Islands have shown an incredible and resilient 

spirit in rebuilding after their record losses; 

Whereas Puerto Rico faced one of the longest blackouts in 

United States history, during which millions of residents 

were left without power and basic services for nearly a 

year, triggering crises of physical and mental health, migration, housing, and infrastructure; 

Whereas, 4 years since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 

Puerto Rico, the electrical grid in Puerto Rico remains 

unreliable, leaving millions of people without a secure 

source of power as they suffer intermittent brownouts 

and blackouts; 

Whereas, due to the impacts of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, 

thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the United 

States Virgin Islands still have blue tarps over their 

roofs; 

Whereas, as a result of Hurricane Maria, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans were uprooted, and some Puerto 

Ricans have relocated to the mainland United States; 

Whereas, due to unaddressed damage to homes in Puerto 

Rico, hundreds of Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane 

Maria continue to need housing assistance from the territorial government and the Federal Government; 


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•SRES 373 IS 

Whereas the economic health of Puerto Rico continues to 

waiver as the preexisting debt crisis was exacerbated by 

the impact of Hurricane Maria; 

Whereas Hurricane Maria is the third most costly tropical cyclone in United States history, with damages estimated 

at $98,100,000,000; 

Whereas the Federal Government has allocated approximately 

$71,000,000,000 in disaster-relief funding to help the 

people of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands rebuild from other disasters that have impacted the 

islands since Hurricane Maria; 

Whereas, in Puerto Rico, the official death toll from Hurricane Maria stands at 2,975 victims, although some academic estimates place the toll at 4,645; 

Whereas many of the underlying vulnerabilities contributing 

to the massive death toll in Puerto Rico are still present, 

including an underfunded healthcare system and a shortage of medical physicians and specialists; 

Whereas the residents of Vieques, Puerto Rico, which number 

more than 8,000, lost the primary hospital and do not 

have an adequate and comprehensive healthcare facility; 

Whereas, in a September 2020 report, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security 

found that the Federal Emergency and Management 

Agency (in this preamble referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) mismanaged the distribution of commodities in response to 

Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico; 

Whereas FEMA lost visibility of approximately 38 percent of 

its commodity shipments to Puerto Rico, worth an estimated $257,000,000; 


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•SRES 373 IS 

Whereas, in an April 2021 report, the Office of the Inspector 

General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that the administration of President Donald Trump created bureaucratic hurdles that delayed approximately $20,000,000,000 in hurricane disaster recovery and mitigation funds to Puerto Rico; 

Whereas Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 

continue to battle with climate change, which has intensified tropical cyclones, rising temperatures, coastal erosion, droughts, and flash floods, among other climate 

events; 

Whereas Puerto Rico continues to address and respond to 

other disasters, including the earthquakes of 2020 and 

the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

Whereas millions of Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders still 

grapple with the physical, emotional, and economic damages caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) remains steadfast in its commitment to the 

3 people of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 

4 Islands to assist in restoring the islands to their full 

5 potential; and 

6 (2) resolutely assures that it will not abandon 

7 the plight of— 

8 (A) the millions of citizens of the United 

9 States living in Puerto Rico and the United 

10 States Virgin Islands; and 


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•SRES 373 IS 

1 (B) the citizens of the United States who 

2 have relocated from Puerto Rico and the United 

3 States Virgin Islands to the mainland United 

4 States in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. 

Æ 


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