Marking Solemn Eighth Anniversary of Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, as we mark the solemn eighth anniversary of Hurricanes Irma and Maria making landfall in the Virgin Islands, each as Category 5 hurricanes, I rise today to speak about the remarkable resilience of Virgin Islanders, the critical Federal partnership that secured the necessary funding for our recovery, and the transformative opportunity which is on the cusp of realization for our people.

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma pummeled the territory, shredded roofs, destroyed our utilities, and shattered lives.

Two weeks later, Hurricane Maria made landfall in the Virgin Islands, wreaking destruction across parts of the territory already spared from Irma.

The devastation was complete and overwhelming. Our hospitals were destroyed. Schools were left in ruins. Our children shared schools for 2 years, and thousands of homes were uninhabitable. Our residents lived without electricity for 9 months.

In those darkest hours, I witnessed something extraordinary: the unbreakable spirit of Virgin Islanders. We came together to support one another, rebuild our community, and lay the foundation for a stronger and more resilient future.

While others simply saw the need to rebuild, I saw an opportunity for transformation. Many in my home in leadership said I was asking for too much and I was out of place.

By showing Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle how many times infrastructure had been rebuilt after storms and how expensive that was, Congress recognized that the prudent replacement required that the Virgin Islands should rebuild not how things were at the time of the storm but how they should have been.

As the Representative in Congress for my home at the time, I knew that recovery of this magnitude would require unprecedented Federal support and innovative approaches.

That is why we fought for and secured transformational changes in Federal law through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. This legislation allowed FEMA, for the duration of our recovery, to rebuild our critical infrastructure with resilient design features up to the latest industry building standards, regardless of what existed before the storms.

This was not just a policy change. It was a paradigm shift. Instead of simply replacing what we lost, we could build infrastructure designed to withstand future storms and serve our community for generations.

I personally brought drafters of the legislation to meet with local government and FEMA officials to ensure that they understood the intent of this body in changing that law.

The numbers speak for themselves of the historic investments in the territory: almost $2 billion for rebuilding of our hospitals, several billion dollars for our schools, and more than $4 billion for the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority. There was a total of $20 billion flowing to our population.

Recognizing that even this massive investment could be undermined by local matching requirements, I worked tirelessly with the last administration to secure an increase in the Federal cost share to 95 percent for public assistance categories and 98 percent for larger critical infrastructure. This will save our territory $1 billion in matching funds that we simply do not have.

Unfortunately, the local government has, at times, exacerbated the slow pace of rebuilding. The first years after the storm were not used to sufficiently build capacity or develop integrated project management, and we have had fits and starts in rebuilding.

Our isolation and relatively small size creates difficulty in obtaining supplies and labor. This is further exacerbated by delays that occurred at HUD and FEMA. However, the story of the Virgin Islands recovery is, ultimately, a story about partnership between Federal and local government; between Congress and our territory; and, most importantly, among Virgin Islanders themselves.

We must be focused, transparent, adaptable, and driven to make our home the jewel of the Caribbean. It is a testament to what we can achieve when we refuse to accept that natural disasters must define our destiny.

As we move forward, we carry with us the lessons learned from Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. We cannot and we will not squander this transformational opportunity. We will build smarter, stronger, more resilient, and we will continue to prove that Virgin Islanders, undeterred by any challenge, remain VI Strong.

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