IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 724 
Recognizing the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s destruction of Puerto 
Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 
Mr. HERNA´NDEZ (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HUFFMAN, 
Mr. NEAL, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. BOYLE
of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Mr. SOTO, Ms. POU, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. GOLD-
MAN of New York, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. LARSON of Con-
necticut, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. LAR-
SEN of Washington, and Mrs. RAMIREZ) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s de-
struction of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
Islands. 
Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 
landfall near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, as a Category 4 hur-
ricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per 
hour, when Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Is-
lands were still recovering from Hurricane Irma’s impact 
just 14 days prior; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Sep 17, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR724.IH
HR724
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 724 IH 
Whereas the official death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane 
Maria is above 4,000, making it the second deadliest 
storm in United States history; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria caused a catastrophic failure of 
Puerto Rico’s electrical grid, producing the longest black-
out in United States history that required over 11 
months to recuperate, and left millions of Puerto Ricans 
without power or basic services; 
Whereas communications were crippled as 95 to 96 percent 
of cell sites in Puerto Rico were out of service, and 48 
out of 78 municipalities had 100 percent of cell sites 
down, with outages persisting months later; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria triggered more than 40,000 land-
slides, with the rural communities at the mountainous in-
terior of the island being hit the hardest; 
Whereas critical water infrastructure and dam safety was 
threatened, particularly the Guajataca Dam that prompt-
ed evacuation warnings affecting 70,000 residents; 
Whereas the Puerto Rican agricultural sector suffered 80 
percent losses, totaling $780,000,000, with the destruc-
tion of thousands of plantain, banana, and coffee farms; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria has been one of the most expensive 
natural disasters in United States history, with damage 
estimates as high as $115,200,000,000; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria caused massive displacement and 
migration, with an estimated 4 percent of the population, 
or 130,000 people, leaving Puerto Rico in the aftermath; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria disproportionately devastated vul-
nerable groups, including seniors, children, and individ-
uals with chronic medical conditions, limiting their access 
to medical care, emergency services, medication, and di-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Sep 17, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR724.IH
HR724
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 724 IH 
alysis machines, and all 47 of Puerto Rico’s dialysis cen-
ters lost power, causing critical disruptions in patient 
care; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria ignited a severe mental health cri-
sis across Puerto Rico, as the island’s suicide prevention 
hotline experienced a 246-percent increase in calls from 
individuals who had attempted suicide, and the suicide 
death toll climbed by 29 percent from the previous year; 
Whereas Federal support has been significant, but long-term 
efforts are still needed: while the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency has allocated over $23,400,000,000 
in public assistance to Puerto Rico’s recovery, bureau-
cratic delays and bottlenecks in disbursement have slowed 
reconstruction and prolonged hardship for affected com-
munities; 
Whereas the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment has allocated more than $20,000,000,000 in Com-
munity Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery 
funds, but oversight from an April 2024 report by the 
Office of the Inspector General of Housing and Urban 
Development identified serious bottlenecks and delays in 
the release and use of those funds; 
Whereas, in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Maria, States 
and municipalities of the United States mobilized to as-
sist Puerto Rico in the form of personnel, equipment, and 
relief centers; New York deployed more than 450 utility 
and relief workers; Florida established disaster relief cen-
ters for arriving evacuees; and States across the Nation 
facilitated aid through the Emergency Management As-
sistance Compact; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Sep 17, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR724.IH
HR724
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 724 IH 
Whereas nongovernmental organizations provided essential 
humanitarian assistance, including the Red Cross, which 
distributed more than 11,000,000 meals and 2,700 gen-
erators, and organizations such as Direct Relief, which 
supplied over $70,000,000 in medical supplies to hos-
pitals and clinics on the island; 
Whereas the Puerto Rican diaspora communities in the main-
land United States were instrumental in relief, advocacy, 
and long-term recovery efforts, raising millions of dollars 
from personal donations, coordinating supply shipments, 
and sheltering and employing displaced communities; 
Whereas the people of Puerto Rico and the United States 
Virgin Islands, both on the islands and across the main-
land, have demonstrated extraordinary strength and resil-
ience in the face of enormous hardship; 
Whereas the underlying vulnerabilities that contributed to the 
humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria 
continue to exist, including an underresourced health care 
system and a scarcity of medical specialists; and 
Whereas Puerto Rico continues to suffer massive, islandwide 
power outages frequently, especially after Hurricane 
Fiona in 2022 and Hurricane Erin in 2025, underscoring 
the ongoing infrastructural fragility and the urgency of 
more resilient reconstruction: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commemorates the eighth anniversary of 
Hurricane Maria, honors the memory of those whose 
lives were lost, and stands with the survivors in 
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands 
who continue to endure its lasting impacts; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Sep 17, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR724.IH
HR724
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 724 IH 
(2) urges the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency Administrator to expedite the full disburse-
ment of critical recovery funds, recognizing that 
every day of delay prolongs hardship and hinders 
Puerto Rico’s and the United States Virgin Islands’ 
reconstruction; and 
(3) calls upon Congress and the Administration 
to prioritize resilient infrastructure investments in 
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, 
including modernizing its energy grid, strengthening 
health care capacity, and ensuring equitable disaster 
recovery for future natural disasters. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Sep 17, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR724.IH
HR724
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB