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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, On Wednesday, September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria | ||||||
| 3 | made landfall in Puerto Rico near the southeastern town of | ||||||
| 4 | Yabucoa; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The powerful Category 4 storm plowed across the | ||||||
| 6 | island with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, uprooted | ||||||
| 7 | trees, downed weather stations and cell towers, and ripped | ||||||
| 8 | wooden and tin roofs off of homes; electricity was cut off to | ||||||
| 9 | 100 percent of the island, and access to food and clean water | ||||||
| 10 | became limited for most; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Heavy rains and flash floods brought on by the | ||||||
| 12 | storm exacerbated widespread devastation and turned streets | ||||||
| 13 | into rivers full of debris; in some areas, floodwaters were | ||||||
| 14 | waist high, more than 30-inches deep, and often sewage-ridden; | ||||||
| 15 | and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Hurricane Maria is the worst storm to hit Puerto | ||||||
| 17 | Rico in over 80 years; the storm arrived only two weeks after | ||||||
| 18 | Hurricane Irma passed just north of the island and left one | ||||||
| 19 | million people without power; the effect on Puerto Rican | ||||||
| 20 | families and the island's infrastructure will take many years | ||||||
| 21 | to heal; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, On September 29, 2017, the President of the United | ||||||
| 2 | States issued a ten-day waiver of the federal Jones Act, which | ||||||
| 3 | requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported | ||||||
| 4 | by U.S. vessels; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, If there is a shortage of U.S. flagged vessels, | ||||||
| 6 | there will be a major limitation in the amount of goods being | ||||||
| 7 | shipped in the relief support; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The waiver of the Jones Act expired on October 10, | ||||||
| 9 | 2017; many members of the U.S. Congress urged the President to | ||||||
| 10 | consider repealing it permanently; one Congressman was quoted | ||||||
| 11 | calling the Jones Act an "antiquated, protectionist law that | ||||||
| 12 | has drive up costs and crippled Puerto Rico's economy"; | ||||||
| 13 | therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we urge the President of the United States to abolish the | ||||||
| 17 | federal Jones Act and allow Puerto Rico to receive relief | ||||||
| 18 | supplies from foreign vessels in the instance that there is a | ||||||
| 19 | shortage of U.S. flagged ships; and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to the President of the United States.
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