Rep. Pelosi Issues Remarks on Unfinished Hurricane Recovery in Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, issued the following remarks:

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Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was joined by Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett for a Press Conference to discuss the new threats to communities from Hurricane Florence and the need for renewed action and accountability for the federal hurricane recovery response in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Below are the Leader's remarks:

"Good morning, everyone.

"We've come together very prayerfully this morning with prayers in our hearts for all our fellow Americans who are facing the terrible winds and waters of Hurricane Florence. We're praying for the safety of the families in harm's way and for the heroic first responders who have come from across America to help.

"We owe the communities facing Hurricane Florence a solemn pledge: in these critical months of recovery to come, the government will do everything it can to save lives and make them whole - the promises we owe every American facing disaster.

"But sadly that promise was not kept for our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. At the end of the July, we led a bipartisan delegation of sixteen Members to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to see firsthand what still needs to be done. It was our goal to expedite the assistance, the cooperation that would be necessary.

"It was my honor to be joined on that trip by Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York, Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee and member of Financial Services and Natural Resources, both of which have a role in this.

"Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who will be joining us shortly, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigation, and also a Member of the Homeland Security Committee and the Budget Committee. So she takes about three bites of this apple, at least.

"And of course Representative Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ranking Member of the Interior, Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and a Member of Transportation and Infrastructure and Agriculture.

"The three Members and I were part of a sixteen Member delegation.

"This month marks one year - I always like temporal markers so that we can see how far we have come and remember the loss of life, the real loss of life. This month marks one year since Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit, and the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are still struggling to heal and recover.

"The suffering endured by our fellow Americans over the past year has been a challenge to the conscience of our nation, yet President Trump tweeted yesterday that the death toll of 3,000 people, 3,000 Americans, was made up to discredit his Presidency.

"Think about that. Pray over that. Think of the people who are affected by that.

"The attitude from the Administration and from the Republican Congress is unacceptable. We have a moral obligation to do better, not only to finish the job in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but to prevent the same type of inadequate response from ever happening again.

"And right now, in real time, as we see the suffering on our East Coast, in the Carolinas, and we'll see what happens next, we have to understand that it's not just about the physical destruction of property. That's traumatic enough in terms of the impact it has on people's lives. More importantly, it's about the personal consequences.

"I think there's been - I don't know if there's been any loss of life, but hopefully in the recovery, it's not just about rescue, but the recovery will be about the well-being of the people there.

"And that's one of the manifestations of natural disaster that we saw in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the personal consequences of it all. And really so sad for the President to add salt to the wounds by making the most unfortunate statement that he made. But let's put that aside and let's be serious and real about it.

"Now it's my honor to yield to a person who has been relentless, persistent, dissatisfied, constant in her advocacy for the people, the American citizens in Puerto Rico, a person who was born there, who knows the territory, and knows the Congress and knows our possibilities, Congressman Nydia Velazquez of New York."