Expressing continued support for the people of Puerto Rico, and calling for the Federal Government to expedite the rebuilding of Puerto Rico's electrical grid.

Bill: 117-hres-1401
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
Introduced: 2022-09-28
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Electric power generation and transmission

Natural disasters

Puerto Rico

U.S. territories and protectorates
Latest action: action_date: 2022-09-28
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-09-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution expresses support for the people of Puerto Rico and the rebuilding of Puerto Rico's damaged electrical grid following recent hurricanes.<br /></p>

tv_txt: IV 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1401 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 28, 2022 Mr. Torres of New York (for himself, Ms. Velázquez , Miss González-Colón , Mr. Soto , Mr. San Nicolas , Ms. Wild , Mr. Larson of Connecticut , Mr. Grijalva , and Mr. Espaillat ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources RESOLUTION Expressing continued support for the people of Puerto Rico, and calling for the Federal Government to expedite the rebuilding of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.

Whereas, on September 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico; Whereas Puerto Rico has seen great devastation because of the winds and the historic amount of rainfall caused by Hurricane Fiona; Whereas recognizing the urgency, President Biden made a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico which will open the opportunity for Puerto Rico to have access to necessary funds and resources provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Whereas Puerto Rico once again faced an islandwide blackout, which greatly affected hospitals, health centers, senior homes, and thousands of households; Whereas 5 years since Hurricane Maria, the people of Puerto Rico continue to have an unreliable electrical grid; Whereas every natural disaster, like Hurricane Fiona, begets a man-made disaster of widespread power outages; Whereas Puerto Rico is continuing to face a humanitarian crisis; Whereas Congress has appropriated billions of dollars for the rebuilding of the electrical grid, but after 5 years, a small number of funds have been expended; Whereas the people of Puerto Rico urgently need the continued support of the Federal Government to rebuild the electrical grid and for other infrastructure projects; Whereas Puerto Rico has established renewable energy metrics under the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act (Act 17) which should be considered as part of any rebuilding effort; and Whereas rebuilding the electrical grid of Puerto Rico is one of the most urgent infrastructure needs in the United States: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) is committed to supporting the people of Puerto Rico and to assisting in restoring the islands to their full potential; and (2) calls upon President Biden and Federal agencies to work together to expedite the rebuilding of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and to support any effort to meet the energy policy metrics established by the Government of Puerto Rico.