Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Supporting Puerto Rico Following The Destruction Of Hurricane Fiona

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on supporting our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico following the destruction of Hurricane Fiona. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

Today, my thoughts are with all our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico—and all communities across the Caribbean—battered by the destruction of Hurricane Fiona. As of this morning, well over a million residents on the island remain without power, and two-thirds remain without running water.

In a short while, I will get on the phone with the FEMA Administrator, and urge that they be ready to approve a temporary 100% federal cost share for all emergency protective services that Puerto Rico conducts in the coming days. That means covering the island’s costs for distributing food and water, disaster operations, and emergency medical care. Right now, the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund has about $15 billion as of late last week, a fund we Democrats fought extremely hard to secure.

I will also join with my colleagues in the New York delegation to send FEMA a letter calling on them to be ready to support Puerto Rico on any upcoming requests for aid.

Five years, almost exactly five years to the day, after Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, the federal government has a responsibility to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the previous administration. The federal response should be swift, robust, and continue for as long as the island needs.

###