Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett released the following statement on two major pieces of legislation that successfully progressed through legislative markup in significant House Committees of jurisdiction:
“I am pleased to share that this week, H.R. 6084, the Expediting Disaster Recovery Act, which I reintroduced with my Republican colleague, Congressman Garret Graves, successfully passed the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. This bill creates a separate funding stream for FEMA, after the declaration of a major disaster, to expeditiously (within 30 days) allocate additional assistance to cover unmet needs as a result of such disaster. Since we are amid hurricane season and are on the frontlines of climate change, it continues to be abundantly clear that our territory and other disaster-impacted areas need the support of the federal government to rebuild lives, businesses, and communities as quickly as possible. This bill cuts out some of the unnecessary federal process to put a minimum amount of long-term recovery funding on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, without taking away oversight of taxpayer dollars.”
“Additionally, I am proud to share that H.R. 920, the Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act, which I co-sponsored with my Republican colleague and fellow Caribbean sister, Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon has progressed through the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee as part of legislation to reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). This critical legislation provides statutory authority for the requirement for the ONDCP to include a Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy in its National Drug Control Strategy. This strategy must include measures for preventing the illegal trafficking of drugs through the Caribbean region into the United States, including measures to combat drug trafficking and drug-related violent crime in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
“I would like to thank both Congressman Graves and Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon, Chairman Comer, Ranking Member Raskin and their teams for their willingness to work across the aisle to advance these two timely pieces of legislation for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean region.”
“These bills must still come the Floor of the House of Representatives and be passed by the House and Senate before they go to the President’s desk for signature into law,” said Congresswoman Plaskett. “In addition, we are working to have companion measures considered by the Senate.”
