releases: https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-bipartisan-group-of-colleagues-call-for-help-committee-hearings-on-impact-of-hurricanes-on-puerto-rico-and-us-virgin-islands
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-bipartisan-group-of-colleagues-call-for-help-committee-hearings-on-impact-of-hurricanes-on-puerto-rico-and-us-virgin-islands | MURPHY, BIPARTISAN GROUP OF COLLEAGUES CALL FOR HELP COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON IMPACT OF HURRICANES ON PUERTO RICO U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS | 2017-12-28 | 2017 | 2017-12 | Democrat | House | CT | Christopher Murphy | M001169 | www.murphy.senate.gov | legacy | MURPHY, BIPARTISAN GROUP OF COLLEAGUES CALL FOR HELP COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON IMPACT OF HURRICANES ON PUERTO RICO & U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Senators ask Chairman Alexander to hold hearings on health and education challenges facing islands following Hurricanes Irma, Maria Thursday, December 28, 2017 HARTFORD U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), and 6 of their colleagues on the HELP Committee in sending a letter to HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to request that the Committee hold hearings to assess the challenges facing the health and educational systems of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.Noting the extensive damage caused by the hurricanes to the islands' education and public health infrastructures, the senators urged Chairman Alexander to hold hearings to address these issues and to evaluate the relief provided by the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education, both of which fall under the HELP Committee's jurisdiction. "Given the extent of the damage inflicted upon both territories, as well as the important roles of the departments under this committee's jurisdiction in ongoing hurricane relief efforts, we believe such hearings would be an important part of the Committee's oversight related to hurricane recovery,"the senators wrote. "Hearings could help ensure that the Senate has a detailed understanding of the health and education challenges facing Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as an understanding of how Departments under the Committee's purview have provided relief, and how they can improve relief efforts." The HELP Committee has not yet held any hearings on how the two territories have been affected by the storms. The full text of the letter is available here. Murphy, Warren, and Cassidy were joined by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in sending the letter. Immediately following Hurricanes Maria and Irma, Murphy called on Senate leaders to work with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosell to formulate and pass an emergency bill to rebuild Puerto Rico and restore stability to the island. Murphy has held several meetings with the Puerto Rican community in Connecticut to receive feedback on federal relief efforts. He also joined other senators in demanding that the Trump administration take eight specific actions to assist Puerto Rico and in urging FEMA to immediately greenlight the federal funds Puerto Rico needs to rebuild. Murphy has also called out Congress and the Trump administration for systematically denying Puerto Rico a voice and adequate support in the wake of devastation left by Hurricane Maria, and demanded that Congress give Puerto Rico and its residents the equal political and economic status they deserve. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |