III 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
S. RES. 445 
Marking the 6-month anniversary of the devastation of Puerto Rico and 
the United States Virgin Islands by Hurricane Maria. 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MARCH 22, 2018 
Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CASEY, Ms. 
CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. NEL-
SON, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, and 
Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to 
RESOLUTION 
Marking the 6-month anniversary of the devastation of Puer-
to Rico and the United States Virgin Islands by Hurri-
cane Maria. 
Whereas, on September 13, 2017, the National Hurricane 
Center began tracking a tropical wave that ultimately be-
came Hurricane Maria; 
Whereas Hurricane Maria became the tenth most intense At-
lantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical 
storm of the 2017 season; 
Whereas, on September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made 
landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sus-
tained wind speeds of 155 miles per hour; 
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•SRES 445 ATS 
Whereas Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the United 
States Virgin Islands (referred to in this preamble as the 
‘‘U.S. Virgin Islands’’) just 14 days after Puerto Rico 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands were hit by Hurricane Irma; 
Whereas, on March 20, 2018, the people of the United States 
that live in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will 
mark 6 months since Hurricane Maria nearly destroyed 
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; 
Whereas, 6 months since Hurricane Maria made landfall in 
Puerto Rico, more than 120,000 people are still without 
electricity, and hundreds of thousands of people continue 
to lose power on a temporary basis; 
Whereas Puerto Rico remains under a state of emergency 
and reconstruction efforts are still underway; 
Whereas tens of thousands of people in Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands are still awaiting permanent shelter; 
Whereas more than 67,000 households in Puerto Rico and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands needed blue roof tarps as a form 
of temporary roofing for homes; 
Whereas Puerto Rico was struggling with a severe debt crisis 
and a deteriorating health care system prior to Hurricane 
Maria, the effects of which have exacerbated the suffering 
in Puerto Rico; 
Whereas more than 700,000 cubic yards of debris, or the 
equivalent of 190 Olympic-sized swimming pools, have 
been collected in the U.S. Virgin Islands; 
Whereas approximately 3,900,000 cubic yards of debris need 
removal from Puerto Rico; 
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•SRES 445 ATS 
Whereas, when calculating customer hours of lost electricity 
service, Puerto Rico is experiencing the longest blackout 
in the history of the United States; 
Whereas thousands of Puerto Ricans have relocated to the 
mainland of the United States as a result of Hurricane 
Maria; 
Whereas the official death toll from Hurricane Maria stands 
at 64 victims in Puerto Rico; and 
Whereas research suggests that the actual direct and indirect 
death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico may be 
more than 1,000 victims: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the Senate— 
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(1) remains profoundly concerned with the con-
2
tinuing crisis plaguing Puerto Rico and the United 
3
States Virgin Islands (referred to in this resolving 
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clause as the ‘‘U.S. Virgin Islands’’) as a result of 
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Hurricane Maria; and 
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(2) pledges continued support to— 
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(A) the millions of citizens of the United 
8
States living in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Vir-
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gin Islands; and 
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(B) to the citizens of the United States 
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who have relocated from Puerto Rico and the 
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U.S. Virgin Islands to the mainland of the 
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United States in the aftermath of Hurricane 
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Maria. 
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Æ 
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