Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2018
A BILL
To provide additional disaster recovery assistance for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Purposes
The purposes of this Act are to—
provide for the desperate, immediate needs of the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands;
ensure that the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands carried out by the Federal Government are driven by the local communities who were impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria;
implement recovery efforts in a way that allows participation in transparent processes to ensure public input and oversight in long-term development;
prevent the erosion of long-term development, local and municipal governing power, the rights of the people impacted, and their ability to influence their recovery;
protect labor, public engagement, local and municipal governing power, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and other protections;
address the real and imminent threats to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands from extreme weather events caused by anthropogenic climate change; and
during the recovery efforts, prioritize, where possible—
mitigation of the causes of climate change by decreasing or eliminating dependence on fossil fuel use;
adaptation to the increasing climate impacts of extreme weather and sea level rise by rebuilding infrastructure to higher standards and supporting innovative solutions that can better withstand extreme weather and other risks; and
resiliency to ensure the safety and health of the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to ensure they withstand future threats and are able to efficiently and quickly recover from the next hurricanes that strike these islands.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
Covered disaster— The term covered disaster means a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) with respect to Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria.
Covered disaster area— The term covered disaster area means an area—
located in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands; and
for which the President declared a covered disaster.
Public assistance grant program— The term public assistance grant program means the public assistance grant program authorized under sections 403, 406, 407, 418, 419, 428, and 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 5173, 5185, 5186, 5189f, and 5192(a)).
Puerto Rico— The term Puerto Rico means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Virgin Islands— The term Virgin Islands means the Virgin Islands of the United States.