The Most Deadly Hurricane Season Ever?

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) was founded in 2004 to make progress on the issues that matter to you, including stopping global warming. Today marks the official beginning of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, forecast to be normal to above normal.

We have already seen one named storm, Subtropical Storm Alberto, dump heavy rains, tornados, and flooding from the Florida Panhandle, through the Tennessee Valley, reaching to Lower Michigan with sizable rainfall. The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that climate change exacerbates storm activity and intensity. Tell Congress to Get Serious About Addressing Global Warming!

Tell Congress to Help Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands!

Tell Congress to Get Serious About Addressing Global Warming!

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Revised figures from researchers at Harvard University, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, recalibrate the number of deaths caused by catastrophic Hurricane Maria’s direct hit (September 20, 2017) on Puerto Rico to exceed 4,600—more than twice the number of people killed during Hurricane Katrina.

Obviously far more people died than the 64 deaths recorded in official government statistics. Over 30 percent of these deaths (1,500+) were linked to lack of medical care, long-term power outages, and other infrastructure failures in the storm’s aftermath. Tell Congress the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands need help now!

The millions of people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are American citizens, but their status as residents of a territory means they have no voting representation in Washington. The federal government’s response to last year’s hurricane was clearly inadequate, and Congress has done little to nothing to guarantee adequate responses this year.

Congress must guarantee rapid and comprehensive disaster relief legislation to ensure prompt, efficient, and effective relief during and after natural disasters. We must grant Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands relief from crippling debt, austerity protocols, and tariff disparities. And finally, we must grant full statehood or statehood-level rights and protections to the residents of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands—full parity with all other American citizens. Tell Congress to Help Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands!

In solidarity,

Deb Schrishuhn for Mike H., Donna, Mike F, Judy, Janis, Dan, Kimberly, Dr Bill, and Bryan—your PDA National Team

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