Water Crisis in Puerto Rico

Floor Speech

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Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, Puerto Rico faces a water crisis, and, ironically, the Governor's office is drowning.

Last week, decades of mismanagement and poor maintenance left hundreds of thousands, including me and my family, without water.

There was a stench, but it was not just the stench of unflushed toilets. It was the stench of corruption.

The former Secretary of Economic Development filed a criminal complaint against the Governor's chief of staff for alleged intervention in a government bidding process.

When the Governor testified in the Senate last week, Senator Mike Lee asked her: How can Congress be assured that Federal funds sent to Puerto Rico are not being misused?

I would tell Senator Lee: The people of Puerto Rico share your concern.

On behalf of the honest, hardworking majority of Puerto Ricans, I tell this Chamber: We will not be quiet. We will not stand still. We will fight to restore integrity in public service in the great Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

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