Recognizing the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria's destruction of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.
H. Res. 724 is a House resolution recognizing the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s destruction of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. The measure recounts the storm’s impacts (massive power outages, communications failures, landslides, water infrastructure strain, agricultural losses, displacement, and a mental health crisis) and notes the substantial but still insufficient federal response and ongoing recovery challenges. It expresses the sense of the House that recovery should continue with urgency and calls for two concrete actions: (1) to urge FEMA to expedite the full disbursement of critical recovery funds, and (2) to prioritize resilient infrastructure investments—particularly modernizing the energy grid, strengthening health care capacity, and ensuring equitable disaster recovery for future events. The bill is a non-binding resolution, not a new program or appropriation.
Key Points
- 1Recognizes and commemorates the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria and honors those affected, including survivors in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- 2Recites documented impacts: death toll over 4,000; longest U.S. blackout (over 11 months); widespread communications outages (95–96% of cell sites down; 48 of 78 municipalities with 100% outages); thousands of landslides; water and dam safety concerns; substantial agricultural losses; total damage estimates up to about $115.2 billion; large-scale displacement; and a significant mental health crisis.
- 3Notes ongoing vulnerabilities and infrastructural fragility, including recurring power outages after subsequent storms (Fiona in 2022 and Erin in 2025), and persistent underresourced health care and medical access issues (including dialysis capacity).
- 4Points to past federal support and identified bottlenecks: FEMA has allocated over $23.4 billion in public assistance; HUD has allocated over $20 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, with later oversight identifying bottlenecks and delays.
- 5Calls for two actions: (1) urging the FEMA Administrator to expedite the full disbursement of recovery funds; (2) urging Congress and the Administration to prioritize resilient infrastructure investments in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (energy grid modernization, stronger health care capacity, and equitable disaster recovery).