USVI Public Records

Document text

III 115TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 641 Marking 1 year since the landfall of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CASEY, Ms. COR- TEZ MASTO, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) submitted the following resolution; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Marking 1 year since the landfall of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria passed through the United States Virgin Islands as a category 5 hurricane and made landfall in Puerto Rico as a cat- egory 4 hurricane, causing significant devastation across those islands; Whereas the people of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have shown an incredible and resilient spirit in rebuilding after their record losses; Whereas Hurricane Maria contributed to an estimated 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Sep 18, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR641.IS SR641 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 641 IS Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion estimates that Hurricane Maria caused an estimated $90,000,000,000 in damage to Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, making Hurricane Maria the third-costliest hurricane in United States history; Whereas, as a result of Hurricane Maria— (1) 3,300,000 residents of Puerto Rico were left without electrical power; (2) 95 percent of cellular sites were knocked out; (3) 80 percent of water service was inoperable; and (4) thousands of Puerto Ricans were displaced from their homes and relocated to the mainland United States; Whereas significant challenges remain in recovery and re- building efforts in Puerto Rico 1 year after Hurricane Maria hit; Whereas Congress appropriated billions of dollars with the specific purpose of directly helping the citizens of Puerto Rico to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the hurri- cane; Whereas the electrical grid on the island of Puerto Rico re- mains unreliable and susceptible to intermittent brown- outs and blackouts; and Whereas many Puerto Ricans continue to be displaced with- out access to permanent housing both on the island of Puerto Rico and on the mainland: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes that September 20, 2018, marks 2 1 year since the landfall of Hurricane Maria in 3 Puerto Rico; 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Sep 18, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR641.IS SR641 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 641 IS (2) honors the victims who lost their lives due 1 to Hurricane Maria; 2 (3) commends the resiliency of those still re- 3 building their lives after Hurricane Maria; 4 (4) recognizes the continued challenges facing 5 Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in 6 the wake of Hurricane Maria; 7 (5) commits to ensuring that survivors of Hur- 8 ricane Maria have adequate resources to continue 9 the recovery process; 10 (6) extols the work of first responders and citi- 11 zens who contributed to saving countless lives in the 12 aftermath of Hurricane Maria; and 13 (7) reaffirms the commitment of the Senate to 14 support the people of Puerto Rico and the United 15 States Virgin Islands as they continue to rebuild and 16 recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Sep 18, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR641.IS SR641 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS