Senator Nellie Pou’s Statement on Release of Governor Murphy’s Puerto Rico Relief Commission Report

As Chairwoman of the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus, I first must thank Governor Murphy for establishing the New Jersey Commission on Puerto Rico Relief. The findings of that commission, released last week, are important. They also are disturbing.

Eight months after Hurricane Maria pummeled the island, tens of thousands of residents of Puerto Rico still have no power, the island’s economy is expected to shrink by 8 percent in 2018, thousands of businesses have been unable to reopen, over 200,000 people have left the island, and it is expected that Puerto Rico’s population will contract by more than 500,000 in five years’ time.

Yet, I am hopeful because at least here in New Jersey, we are doing something to help. More than 30,000 displaced Puerto Ricans have come to New Jersey. The state has allowed Puerto Rico free use of its recovery operations and recovery program created after Superstorm Sandy. We are connecting PSE&G with the Electrical Utilities Company of Puerto Rico to help improve Puerto Rico’s electrical grid so it may be able to withstand future devastating storms. My colleagues Sens. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Gloucester/Camden) have sponsored a bill that would prohibit investment of state pension and annuity funds in entities engaged in mortgage foreclosures in disaster areas impacted by Hurricane Maria. The governor’s commission outlines other important initiatives, as well.

We cannot forget that the people of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. All of us, in New Jersey and across the nation, must respond to the crisis in Puerto Rico with the same zeal and compassion we show when natural disasters strike any state in the Union.Too much devastation remains nearly a year after Hurricane Maria struck.

I pledge to work with my colleagues in the Legislature and with the governor to ensure that we do not stop until we get the job done. The governor’s commission outlines what we, in New Jersey, can do – what we must do. And we must do it now.