Full Text of HR0115 101st General Assembly
HR0115 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, On Wednesday, September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria | 3 | | made landfall in Puerto Rico near the southeastern town of | 4 | | Yabucoa; and
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the President of the United States.
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