Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., called for the creation of an independent commission to examine the death toll of and federal response to Hurricane Maria.
During a press conference Wednesday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Velazquez said she wants the nonpartisan commission, which would be similar to the 9/11 Commission, to look into not only the death toll from Hurricane Maria, but also evaluate disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
“We need an analysis of how this low death count may have shaped the inadequate federal response, and this goes to the heart of the issue here,” Velazquez said. “This is the argument, this is the narrative that defines the kind of response that Puerto Rico got from the federal administration, from this president.”
Velazquez’s request follows the recent release of a Harvard study that estimated there were more than 4,600 deaths caused by Hurricane Maria and the storm’s aftermath.
That figure stood in sharp contrast to the death count from Puerto Rico, which recorded 64 deaths due to the storm in the first few days of the event, but stopped counting to await more precise details.
The exact death toll, however, remains unknown and may be difficult to determine.
Velazquez said she introduced legislation to establish the commission and said the “American people deserve the facts about what happened to their fellow citizens.”
“I expect that once all the information is brought to light, we will find our government’s inadequate response to Maria constitutes a stain on the moral conscience of our nation,” she said.
Today, following the Harvard study, I announced legislation to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate death toll in Puerto Rico after #Maria, the federal response and how that response was shaped by the low, “official” death count. We need the truth! @HispanicCaucus pic.twitter.com/u6nm4OXhHq
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) June 6, 2018
The New York Democrat, who was born in Puerto Rico and was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House, also offered a message to President Trump ahead of his visit Wednesday afternoon to the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in D.C.
“When you are visiting FEMA today to mark the beginning of hurricane season, let’s be clear: This is not the time for self-congratulations and victory laps,” Velazquez said.
A group of House Democrats on Monday sent a letter to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, calling for a hearing into the Trump administration’s handling of response and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico after the island was hit by Hurricane Maria.
[Related: Puerto Rico judge orders government to turn over death records to reporters]
