•HCON 51 IH 
Whereas Hurricane Maria is the second deadliest storm in re-
corded United States history after the Great Galveston 
Hurricane of 1900; 
Whereas the people of Puerto Rico living on both the main-
land United States and the island have shown an incred-
ible and resilient spirit in rebuilding after their record 
losses; 
Whereas Puerto Rico faced one of the longest blackouts in 
United States history, where millions of residents were 
left without power and basic services for nearly a year, 
triggering physical and mental health, migration, hous-
ing, and infrastructure crises; 
Whereas four years since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 
Puerto Rico, the electrical grid on the island remains un-
reliable leaving millions without a secure source of power 
as they suffer intermittent brownouts and blackouts; 
Whereas thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands still have blue tarps over their roofs due 
to the impacts of Hurricanes Maria and Irma; 
Whereas hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans were up-
rooted and some have relocated to the mainland United 
States as a result of Hurricane Maria; 
Whereas hundreds of Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane 
Maria continue to need housing assistance from the terri-
torial and Federal Government due to unaddressed dam-
age to their homes on the island; 
Whereas Puerto Rico’s economic health continues to waiver 
as the preexisting debt crisis was exacerbated by the im-
pact of Hurricane Maria; 
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•HCON 51 IH 
Whereas Hurricane Maria is the third most costly United 
States tropical cyclone recorded, with damages estimated 
at $98,100,000,000; 
Whereas the Federal Government has allocated almost 
$72,000,000,000 in disaster relief funding to help the 
people of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Is-
lands rebuild from disasters since Hurricane Maria 
struck; 
Whereas the official death toll from Hurricane Maria now 
stands at 2,975 victims in Puerto Rico, although some 
academic estimates place the toll at 4,645; 
Whereas many of the underlying vulnerabilities contributing 
to the massive death toll on the Island, such as an under-
funded healthcare system and a shortage of medical phy-
sicians and specialists are still present; 
Whereas the over 8,000 residents of the island municipality 
of Vieques, Puerto Rico lost their primary hospital and 
to this date, do not have an adequate and comprehensive 
healthcare facility; 
Whereas the Federal Emergency and Management Agency 
(FEMA) Office of the Inspector General found in a Sep-
tember 2020 report FEMA mismanaged the distribution 
of commodities in response to Hurricanes Irma and 
Maria in Puerto Rico; 
Whereas it is known that FEMA lost visibility of approxi-
mately 38 percent of its commodity shipments to Puerto 
Rico, worth an estimated $257,000,000; 
Whereas the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (HUD) Office of the Inspector General found in an 
April 2021 report the Trump administration created bu-
reaucratic 
hurdles 
that 
delayed 
approximately 
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•HCON 51 IH 
$20,000,000,000 in hurricane disaster recovery and miti-
gation funds to Puerto Rico; 
Whereas Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to 
battle with climate change, which has intensified tropical 
cyclones, rising temperatures, coastal erosion, droughts, 
flash floods, among other climate events; 
Whereas Puerto Rico continues to address and respond to 
other disasters, including the 2020 earthquakes and the 
COVID–19 pandemic; and 
Whereas millions of Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders still 
grapple with the physical, emotional, and economic dam-
ages caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) remains steadfast in its commitment to the 
people of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
Islands (referred to in this resolving clause as the 
‘‘U.S. Virgin Islands’’) to assist in restoring the is-
lands to their full potential; and 
(2) will resolutely assure that it will not aban-
don the plight of— 
(A) the millions of citizens of the United 
States living in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Vir-
gin Islands; and 
(B) to the citizens of the United States 
who have relocated from Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland of the 
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•HCON 51 IH 
United States in the aftermath of Hurricane 
Maria. 
Æ 
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