Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this legislation.

It has now been 2 years since Maria barreled into Puerto Rico inflicting historic damage, enormous suffering, and the loss of 3,000 American lives. Yet 20 months later, the people of the island continue struggling to recover and rebuild.

Compounding this problem, Puerto Rico has exhausted funding for its nutritional assistance program, and the Governor has informed us they require $600 million to meet the food needs of the Commonwealth's most vulnerable. These are seniors, working single mothers, and those with disabilities.

Let me remind my friends, in the U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, 65 percent of our children live in poverty. It is un-American to deny nutrition assistance to American citizens living in Puerto Rico, particularly children. That is immoral, and we should be ashamed that, in the richest country, most powerful country in the world, we have allowed for children to suffer this way. That is simply wrong.

In January, we passed a package to address this, but the Senate has failed to act, even though a number of my Republican Senate colleagues have promised to deliver Puerto Rico the aid they so desperately need.

Making matters worse, our President has repeatedly distorted and misled the American people about the amount of money Puerto Rico receives.

We must remember, Madam Chair, those suffering in Puerto Rico are our fellow citizens. It is unacceptable that this President and Senate Republicans would abandon them.

Importantly, the bill also instructs FEMA to rebuild in a manner that is more resilient and capable of withstanding future extreme weather. Maria taught us painful lessons, and it only makes sense that as the island recovers we provide it with the tools to rebuild and resist future hurricanes.

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