Title: A resolution marking the 4-year anniversary of the devastation of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane Maria.
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
This resolution declares that Congress remains steadfast in its commitment to the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in restoring the islands to their full potential and that Congress will not abandon U.S. citizens living there or on the U.S. mainland in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 373 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






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 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;
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;
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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) remains steadfast in its commitment to the people of 
        Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands to assist in 
        restoring the islands to their full potential; and
            (2) resolutely assures that it will not abandon the plight 
        of--
                    (A) the millions of citizens of the United States 
                living in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
                Islands; and
                    (B) the citizens of the United States who have 
                relocated from Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
                Islands to the mainland United States in the aftermath 
                of Hurricane Maria.
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