Senators Pledge to Support Rebuilding of Puerto Rico

U.S. lawmakers pledged on Saturday to back Puerto Rico’s recovery as Governor Ricardo Rossello prepares to request a multibillion dollar Congressional aid package to help rebuild from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

Rossello said his government would make a request to Congress by January for long-term assistance. The U.S. territory continues to dig out after the Category 5 storm left much of the island in tatters and caused an estimated $80 billion to $100 billion in damages. He made his case to a bipartisan delegation of U.S. Senators on Saturday, as they flew over some of the island’s hardest hit areas.

“We need the resources so that Puerto Rico can get out of the emergency stage, stabilize, and then start rebuilding,” Rossello told reporters in San Juan, flanked by lawmakers. “This is the most devastating event in the modern history of Puerto Rico.”

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