Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about Hurricane Maria relief efforts:

“We are not looking at a ’10 out of 10’ response to Hurricane Maria. Eighty percent of Puerto Rico still doesn’t have electricity, thirty-five percent of people still don’t have water, and people have been forced to get water from Superfund sites. The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that it needs about 2,000 additional workers to get the lights turned back on, yet there are only about 200 on the ground right now. President Trump finally sent the helicopters Congress asked for, two weeks late, but since then he seems more focused on spinning the media about his response than making sure American citizens are safe and managing a committed reconstruction effort.”

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