Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief and Puerto Rico Disaster Tax Relief Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I thank her and Mr. Crenshaw for this very wise amendment to this important legislation. I thank them for their leadership. The experience that they had in Texas is one that is shared in the rest of the country as well.

I urge an ``aye'' vote on that important Crenshaw/Fletcher amendment.

Madam Chair, many of us remember that nearly 2\1/2\ years ago, Hurricanes Maria and Irma tore through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and left a trail of heartbreak and devastation in their wake. Thousands of Americans, all Americans citizens, tragically lost their lives.

Following the hurricanes, many Members traveled to the islands. We saw firsthand the homes that were destroyed, the communities that were ravaged, and the businesses and schools left in ruin. And we saw that the incompetence and indifference of many from here compounded this terrible humanitarian crisis.

It is unacceptable that the administration illegally withheld for a full year the assistance that Congress appropriated and that Puerto Rico needs, both to recover from Maria, and to prepare for future disasters in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

In recent weeks, tragedy has once again hit Puerto Rico as more than 1,000 earthquakes--1,000 earthquakes have rocked the island since December 28. Schools have crumbled, hospitals are in disarray, and houses have been destroyed. Thousands of people are staying in shelters or sleeping outside out of fear that their homes could collapse as they sleep.

And tragically, two Americans have lost their lives, including a 13- year-old girl in Vieques, where too many are still waiting for the Federal assistance needed to modernize hospitals and improve access to care.

Madam Chair, as Members of Congress, our most important responsibility is to keep the American people safe. Two weeks after devastating earthquakes struck Puerto Rico, our fellow Americans on the island still face serious challenges to their safety, health, and well- being.

Every family that is sleeping outside, every child who no longer has a school to go to because of seismic dangers, every person who dies because they can't access a hospital, each is a challenge to the conscience of our country.

Today, with this strong supplemental assistance package, the Democratic House and, hopefully, with strong bipartisan support, is showing the people of Puerto Rico that we are there for them now, and throughout the road to recovery.

I salute Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez, our fearless, persistent champion of Puerto Rico in the Congress, born there, family there. Thanks also to the members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for raising a relentless drumbeat on behalf of the families on the island.

Today, I also salute the distinguished chair of the Appropriations Committee for working right away, as soon as we came back into session in January, to provide assistance to Puerto Rico, the best route there. That guidance was led by our distinguished chair of the subcommittee of jurisdiction, Mr. Price. So I thank Chairwoman Lowey and Chairman Price. Thank you for bringing us to the floor today on this important legislation.

This supplemental assistance package provides the relief that is urgently needed to help Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands rebuild and recover today. And it invests billions in efforts to prevent damage and loss of life in the future.

Although the earthquake was in Puerto Rico, the ramifications are in that region.

The package, as has been noted, provides more than $3 billion for disaster relief and long-term recovery; $1.25 billion for highway emergency relief, which will also go to disaster-struck States on the mainland; hundreds of millions for critical investments in education, nutrition assistance, electric grid recovery, and strong tax relief for Puerto Rico and other territories, including permanent changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and new investments to boost local economies and create good-paying jobs on the island.

I thank our distinguished chair of the Ways and Means Committee, Richie Neal, for his leadership in having this part of the package.

Sadly, there are some who have some obstacles to sending this emergency money to Puerto Rico following the earthquake. As Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to act because our fellow Americans deserve to know that their government will be there for them without question or hesitation in this dark hour.

Might I say, I am reminded, so many people in our country don't realize Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Many of them, if you visit there, you will visit veterans' centers where so many of them come together. They are American patriots who help our country. We are so proud of them, and we salute them; and in this time of need we want to help them.

I urge a strong vote to provide help, healing, and hope for Puerto Rico.

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