May 1, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 71 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PLIGHT OF PUERTO RICO

  (Mr. GARCIA of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, at a hearing examining 
Puerto Rico's Financial Oversight Board, I plan to stand strong with 
the Puerto Rican families I represent and demand to hear the board's 
plan for reversing Puerto Rico's plight.
  At a time that families are leaving the island, schools are closing, 
and homes and communities destroyed by Hurricane Maria still have not 
been rebuilt, the fiscal board is forcing Puerto Ricans to sacrifice 
pensions, wages, and crucial government services.
  People are hungry, using plastic tarps as roofs, and living without 
electricity or heat.
  I toured the devastated areas earlier this year and met with families 
in my district whose relatives are still suffering last week.
  Well over a year after Maria, less than 20 percent of the aid that 
the fiscal board anticipated has been delivered.
  How can Puerto Rico recover while its oversight board continues to 
squeeze the island and President Trump continues to block disaster aid 
and food stamps?
  Tomorrow, I will stand with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico 
and demand answers to these questions.

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