Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hurricane Infrastructure Recovery Go

Watch afterwards sunday night at 9 00 eastern on cspan2s book tv. Next testimony on energy and infrastructure including rebuilding efforts in florida, texas, and caribbean after major storms. And recommendations to improve Recovery Efforts after future Natural Disasters. A House Energy Subcommittee heard from the public and private sectors. Sub kmcommittee on energy w now come to order and the chair will recognize himself for an opening statement. This years atlantic Hurricane Season was unprecedented. Four named storms in close succession slammed into the gulf, puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. These hurricanes caused catastrophic damage and Energy Supply disruptions across the country. While texas and florida are further down the road to recovery, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in puerto rico. A number of colleagues from this committee have been down there. And the u. S. Virgin islands where the majority of folks still remain without power for more than a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall. Todays hearing will review the Emergency Response and energy Recovery Efforts in the wake of those storms. It will help us begin to understand what went right and what went wrong. While lessons can be learned in how we as policymakers can identify gaps so that when the next hurricane hits we will be better prepared. As a result of Hurricane Harvey, more than 275,000 customers lost power in texas in severe flooding. Also affected the supply delivery of transportation fuels compounding response challenges and Energy Impacts across the gulf. Hurricane irma left more than a million customers without power across puerto rico and the virg Virgin Island and more than six million customers in florida and another million in georgia and South Carolina also lost power. Then two weeks after irma Hurricane Maria delivered the knockout punch wiping out the entire grid of puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. At peak more than 3. 5 million folks were without power. As with most disasters, Energy Restoration is performed by federal, state and local authorities who provide vital resources, infrastructure support and logistical coordination and by industry which provides the expertise and manpower to restore Energy Supply and services. And as we witnessed nightly in the news, recovery on the islands has been painfully difficult and slow. Questions are mounting regarding the role of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and its initial reluctance to request mutual aid for mainland Electricity Companies that were standing by ready to assist immediately after the storm. Rather than request mutual assistance as texas and florida did, in the preceding storms, prepa took the unusual step to award a contract to an unknown company which it then canceled. The deals at prep assigned immediately following the storm are now the subject of an investigation by this committee as they should be. Today were going to hear from two Witness Panels which will provide perspective from the federal level, the state level and the industry responder level. And as weve seen in recent weeks across the areas affected by the storms, each disaster creates its own set of problems. Todays witnesses can help us understand the factors that contribute to these problems and what we may do to ensure a more Effective Response Going Forward. Theyll also help us understand the challenges they face as they move energy and product in the devastating storms and while weve seen alarming devastation, we have also seen some aspects of the response go right. Department of Energy Support functions have gone well. D. O. E. s coordination of regulatory assistance or waivers during the assistance has gone well. Their informational assistance has been consistent and helpful to government and industry alike. And well hear this morning about the Strategic Petroleum reserve, which during harvey, served to to provide Emergency Petroleum swaps to make up for the temporary loss of supply and keep prices at the pump somewhat stable. Well also receive an important update on the various restoration efforts to bring power back to the folks of puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. It will be particularly helpful to understand what have been the barriers to a more rapid recovery, what we are learning about coordination of Emergency Response and restoration on these territories, and what is needed more from us, the congress. How can we apply these lessons Going Forward. This hearing should help us answer some of those critical questions, and i yield now to the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, my friend, gentleman from illinois, mr. Rush. Good morning. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing. Examining in 2017, hurricane in 2017, rather, hurricane and the Emergency Response and Energy Infrastructure Recovery Efforts surrounding these emergencies. Mr. Chairman, i hope this will not be a one and done hearing. This devastating Hurricane Season and there are many, many critical interrelated issues that must be addressed. While i appreciate having witnesses here to discuss the report that we requested last year, the fact of the matter, mr. Chairman, is that we as we speak, there are still many millions of american citizens living without electricity, and many are facing dire life and death conditions for over a month now after hurricanes harvey and irma and maria shattered their lives and devastated their livelihoods. Mr. Chairman, it is my hope that this hearing will shed light on what additional steps need to be taken quickly to restore power while also assuring those residents in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands specifically, that their government has not forgotten about them and that we will provide the same exact same effort and the exact same attention to helping them as we will for any other american citizen. Mr. Chairman, as you know, more than six weeks after Hurricane Maria initially made landfall, nearly 70 of puerto rico and 80 of the u. S. Virgin islands still, mr. Chairman, still lack the power needed for basic, everyday services. Such as lighting their homes, treating drinking water, preserving food and medicine, or even making emergency calls among other critical functions that are so necessary to normal daily activities. While the immediate attention must be focused, mr. Chairman, on providing essential resources to protect the safety of individuals and help them cope in their daytoday lives, over the longterm, we must also help to rebuild the Energy Infrastructure in a way that makes it stronger and more resilient against extreme weather conditions. Mr. Chairman, hurricanes irma and maria exposed the vulnerability of the puerto rico and u. S. Virgin islands electric grids to extreme weather while some communities expected to remain without power for even months on end. In fact, a Study Released last week concluded that the outages caused by Hurricane Maria resulted in 1. 25 billion hours of Electricity Supply disruption to a household in puerto rico and in u. S. Virgin islands. Mr. Chairman, making this sole event the nations largest blackout that was ever recorded. We can find no event in recorded u. S. History where there were as many people without power for as long as has occurred over the past month in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. The report stated. Mr. Chairman, i look forward to engaging todays distinguished panel on the progress that has been made. The additional steps that must be taken to immediately get the power back on as well as the ways to rebuild more resilient and sustainable infrastructure that is less vulnerable to an extreme weather condition that we have witnessed and that we certainly will witness in the future. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair now calls upon the chairman of the full committee, mr. Walden, for five minutes. I thank the gentleman and acknowledge his uniform today. 2017 Hurricane Season has been among the worst in recent memory. Four major storms have wreaked havoc all over our gulf coast, more recently in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. While fuel supplies and electricity have been restored on the mainland, a humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands, and i think you hear that from both sides of the aisle here. This is a real, real serious situation. We all care deeply about. As we often do following Natural Disasters, its not uncommon to see stories in the news about heroics and acts of personal sacrifice and great kindness. We trust that our policymakers can put aside their differences to do whats in the best interest of the country. Weve already passed initial supplemental Disaster Relief funding, this congress, but we understand that much more is needed and we will continue to work with the administration and our colleagues so that our fellow citizens can get the Additional Resources they need to recover and to rebuild. This committee, we roll up our sleeves, and we search for solutions to the various challenges that present themselves after a major disaster. We want to make sure that the agencies under our jurisdiction are well prepared and that you all are responding appropriately, both now and that we learn from lessons of bad incidences and are ready and even better prepared for the next storm or next disaster. If youre lacking certain authorities, let us know. Wed like to expedite recovery. We want to know about these things so we can help fix them. Were all in this together. We want to be practical, and we want to be forward thinking. How can we help ensure the relevant federal response is well coordinated with state, local, and industry responders. How do we ensure decisions are made to guarantee taxpayer Funding Provides the maximum benefit for those in need, and that taxpayers arent ripped off. If we need to rebuild, what can we do to make our infrastructure more resilient. Because of this committees broad jurisdiction over Public Health, emergency telecommunications, and the supply and deliver y of energy we will be gathering facts, perspectives and Lessons Learned. We have already heard from witnesses o on an oversight and Investigation Committee hearing about hhss preeparedness for te hurricanes. Well soon examine disaster responses in telecommunications as well. Today were focusing on Emergency Response and infrastructure recovery. This year, weve already been confronted with several different challenging situations, historic flooding in houston, possibly the greatest evacuation in floridas history, an Energy Crisis in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands that could leave millions without power for estimated months to come. We may take for granted how lucky we are that we can flip a switch and the lights come on. For our citizens in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands, however, almost every aspect of their lives has been deeply disrupted. Hospitals without external generators cannot serve their parents. Getting that power restored is critical. Water Treatment Plants without power threaten the health of individuals who rely on them for safe water, and those who live in remote areas that do not have access to fuel are cut off even from the most basic of necessities. The Witness Panel today will provide important perspectives about the state of current fuel and electric supply Recovery Efforts, what worked, what could be done better under urgent circumstances, the hurricanes and what may be considered in the future. I expect this will be an excellent hearing for us to identify vulnerabilities and assess what is needed to better prepare and respond to future storms and disasters. And with that, i want to thank you for being here today. I appreciate the testimony which youve already submitted. I have and thanks for the good work you and your teams are doing out there. We really want to learn from you and be even better prepared when the next disaster hits. So, with that, mr. Chairman, unless anybody else on our side seeks the remaining minute, i would yield back. I just might ask a question of the vice chair of the committee. Are you intending to wear that jersey on the house floor when we take the picture of the full house this afternoon. Chairman, that is not an issue. I tried to wear this about three weeks ago and it was banned so this will not be in the picture. Then well always be able to find you forever in the picture. Mr. Chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. Gentleman yields back. Recognize the Ranking Member of the full committee from new jersey for an opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. For convening todays hearing, reviewing the disastrous 2017 Hurricane Season, which has wreaked havoc on many parts of our country and i am grateful to the former senator of puerto rico and mr. Rimer of the Virgin Islands for coming here today. I am disappointed that the committee did not even receive a response to its outreach to prepa. I have serious concerns not only about how prepa has overseen the effort to restore power in puerto rico but also more broadly on how prepa has managed or more accurately mismanaged the grid in puerto rico over the years. Now today, we are focusing on the Energy Infrastructure Recovery Efforts and i must say that accounts from the areas affected by these storms paint a dire situation that completely contradicts the often rosy stories that come from the white house. The truth is that taken together, puerto rico and the Virgin Islands are currently experiencing the largest blackout in American History and this nightmare for our fellow citizens is far from over. The central question for us today should be, why is it taking so long to restore power in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands and who is actually in charge of the efforts to restore power to puerto rico. No one person or entity seems to be in charge. And its flustering a chaotic and ineffective effort to restore power on the island and i want answers and so do many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Im also troubled by the maze of contracts with Numerous Companies railroad ovwith overl missions, a patchwork that is failing to turn the lights back in puerto rico and that needs to change now. Im deeply concerned by the terms of the contract prepa signed with whitefish which went so far as to bar prepa from holding the companies liable for delayed completion of grid repair work or letting the government audit their work. The governor has since taken steps to have the whitefish contract cancelled but we need to learn more about how these contracts are being awarded and whether the bidding process is truly competitive. Thats why we have requested documents and a briefing from whitefish so we can learn more about how that troubling agreement materialized. Additionally, fema issued a statement that said it had no involvement in the development of this contract. My question is, why not . The federal government should be engaged in the contracting process of large scale rebuilding contracts for which u. S. Taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill. The federal government needs to step up and take charge to expedite power restoration efforts. Missions like this are why we have a strong federal government, and simply put, the Trump Administration needs to be doing more. If we cant get the power turned back on soon, more people are going to die. This is a humanitarian crisis, and our government owes it to the citizens in these territories to do everything it can to fix it. Now, while restoring power quickly is the most urgent concern, its also crucial that the grid in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands be rebuilt with more modern Energy Technology focused on increased resiliency, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Replacing the old grid as it stood before the storm will cost taxpayers more money and do nothing to make electricity in puerto rico more reliable or affordable. So as Congress Prepares the next emergency spending bill, we must make changes to current law to enable the rebuilding to occur in a way that lays the groundwork for constructing a modern electricity grid in the territories. Failing to invest wisely in puerto rico now will only cost all taxpayers more down the ro