Puerto Rico
When she was sworn into Congress in 1993, Congresswoman Velázquez made history as the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. A native of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, the Island and its people have long been dear to her heart.
In addition, many residents of New York's 7th District hail from Puerto Rico and have family or other close ties to the Island. From working to solve the Puerto Rican debt crisis to bolstering small businesses on the Island, the Congresswoman has been a longtime champion for Puerto Rico.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Congresswoman Velázquez has been at the forefront of recovery efforts. From traveling to the Island to assess the damage to demanding an immediate supplemental funding package, to calling for a more robust and effective response from the Trump Administration, she is urging Washington to provide swift and sustainable relief aid.
For a list of the relief efforts the Congresswoman is supporting, please click here.
The Congresswoman in Sunset Park, Brooklyn organizing relief aid for Hurricane Maria victims.
More on Puerto Rico
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement regarding legislation being considered in Puerto Rico that would alter the Island's Civil Code and modify its electoral processes:
"These are bad pieces of legislation and the legislature should reject them. If they pass, the Governor should veto them.
Washington, DC –The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation authored by Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) that would help companies operating in Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories to export their products abroad. Passed as part of a larger bill reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, her measure would establish a new office aimed at conducing outreach and education to exporting businesses, helping ensure they can access financial assistance offered by the Bank.
Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) has led more than two dozen Members of Congress in writing to the Administrator and a Regional Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling on the Agency to withdraw an alarming proposal to roll back federal safeguards for coal ash waste piles and construction fillers.
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) commented today on Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney's comments that compared Puerto Rico to Ukraine:
"We've known for some time that the President and his Administration have a deep antipathy for our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico. Mr. Mulvaney's comments comparing this part of the United States to a foreign entity is a political Freudian slip, that illustrates the fundamental problem that this White House views Puerto Rico as a foreign country.
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) issued the following statement after the Chairman of the Federal Oversight Management Board, José Carrión, released a "Latinos for Trump" electioneering video on social media:
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement regarding the passing of Enrique Fernández Toledo:
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) has written the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for a comprehensive study on the state of food insecurity in Puerto Rico. The request follows the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's landfall where failed disaster relief resulted in a humanitarian crisis and, according to some estimates, the loss of 3,000 residents' lives.
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) today condemned President Trump for his decision to seize $400 million in military construction funding from Puerto Rico to build a wall at the Southern Border. Last week, the Pentagon announced that it would redirect over $3 billion in military construction funding for 127 projects across the country. Among the affected projects are the construction of a National Guard Readiness Center, a Power Substation, and a Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site in Puerto Rico.
Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement regarding media reports that Federal Emergency Management Agency staff and the President of Cobra Energy have been arrested in relation to Hurricane Maria recovery funds: