Press Releases
PLASKETT ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)’S RECENT ACTION TO RELEASE LONG-AWAITED DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDS FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
Washington, D.C.,
June 22, 2021
For Immediate Release Contact: Michael J. McQuerry PRESS STATEMENT PLASKETT ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)’S RECENT ACTION TO RELEASE LONG-AWAITED DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDS FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS Washington, DC – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s recent action to release long-awaited disaster recovery funds for the Virgin Islands: “I am pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking additional steps to release much needed, long-awaited funding for our disaster recovery efforts in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. My former colleague and current Secretary of HUD, Marcia Fudge acknowledged the tremendous importance of this funding, recognizing that HUD’s opening the door to this $2 billion in funding gives us the ability to improve the reliability and resilience, the hardening of our electrical systems in order to promote environmental equity and to both withstand the impacts of climate change and contribute less to its causes. “As we know, Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused significant damage to the electrical grid in the Virgin Islands in 2017 that required months of repairs in order to restore power. The release of these funds for electrical power system improvements provides an opportunity for our territory to execute the needed strategic, high-impact activities to address necessary expenses and mitigate disaster risks to our electrical power systems; improve system reliability, resiliency, efficiency, and sustainability; and address each system’s long-term financial viability. “I and my team are committed to work along with HUD and the appropriate local agencies to ensure the continued progress to addressing our long-standing energy issues and work to improve our system’s reliability, efficiency and sustainability as well as its financial viability.” ### |