Helping Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

We all remember the critical role the U.S. military played in helping the Marianas recover from Typhoon Soudelor. So, I wrote to President Trump, along with 144 of my colleagues, recommending that he fully mobilize the Department of Defense in support of rescue and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Subsequently, the President did appoint Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan to take the lead.

Insular area Delegates and other Members of Congress also went on the record with the leadership of the House of Representatives that, when a relief measure is considered in Congress, made necessary given the scale of the disaster, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands receive no less assistance than Texas or Florida or any similarly affected U.S. state would receive.

Federal assistance to the Marianas following Typhoon Soudelor was equivalent to the help that any other part of the United States receives from FEMA and SBA and all the other federal agencies that respond to disaster. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands deserve no less now in their time of crisis.