Rep. Espaillat, Sen. Warren, Advocates Demand Senate Action After House Passes Legislation for Disaster Survivors in Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 -- Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York, issued the following news release on Nov. 18:

Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the Senate to take swift action on the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act, a bipartisan bill they led with Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon (PR-At-Large) which clarifies and modernizes federal housing assistance programs used in Puerto Rico and elsewhere after natural disasters, which was passed by the House of Representatives this afternoon:

"The federal government's failed response to Hurricanes Maria and Irma's devastating impact on the people--and island--of Puerto Rico has proven to be a illustration of the harm that outdated relief programs and congressional gridlock can have on a community. And the continued suffering from these storms, particularly in Puerto Rico, compel the Congress to address the barriers and pitfalls of federal disaster assistance programs, which have often failed to meet their stated objective: to help natural disaster survivors rebuild their lives and homes," said Rep. Espaillat. "I am relieved that the House passed the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act today, which provides financial assistance for land surveys and other costs associated with Disaster Housing Assistance Program's application process and relieves survivors from having to notarize documents or furnish deeds for their homes before receiving relief, an impossible task for many in the wake of natural disasters. Now, the Senate must step up, act, and pass this important piece of legislation," he concluded.

"In recent years, natural disasters throughout the country have left families without safe, stable, and affordable housing - but the Trump administration has too often failed to respond. The House just passed our bill to make it easier for communities to receive the housing help that they need following a natural disaster, and I urge the Senate to quickly take it up," said Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Survivors of hurricanes and other disasters need quick and agile responses to the devastating loss of homes and livelihoods. Today, the US House of Representatives stepped up to eliminate unnecessary barriers to aid for those suffering FEMA denials, now the Senate must follow suit," said Adi Martinez-Roman, Senior Policy Analyst for Puerto Rico in Oxfam America, an anti-poverty and humanitarian organization that has been working in Puerto Rico through local partners since Hurricane Maria. "Oxfam has seen the ordeal that hundreds of thousands of poor Americans go through after a disaster hits in order to rebuild their lives. As this grave situation replicates across the United States, Congress has the duty to find and enact these type of effective solutions that get federal emergency and recovery funds quickly into the hands of those that need it the most."

"For decades, FEMA has wrongfully denied critical assistance to America's lowest-income and most marginalized disaster survivors simply because they could not meet FEMA's overly rigid documentation requirements," stated Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which leads the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition of more than 850 local, state, and national organizations. "With this bill, Congress is holding FEMA accountable for its continued failure to address the needs of low-income survivors, particularly survivors of color and other marginalized people. I urge Congress to act quickly to enact this long-overdue reform to better ensure an equitable and complete recovery for survivors with the greatest needs."

First elected to Congress in 2016, Rep. Adriano Espaillat is serving his second term in Congress where he serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Small Business Committee. He serves as a Senior Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he also serves in a leadership role as CHC Whip. He is also chairman of the CHC Task Force for Transportation, Infrastructure and Housing. Rep. Espaillat's Congressional District includes Harlem, East Harlem, northern Manhattan and the north-west Bronx. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.