Human Rights Organizations Nationwide Request Help for Puerto Rico

[TexasTowelie]

A letter sent by 186 human rights organizations to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and to Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat of the Committee, asks the Committee to hold hearings on the education and health crisis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A broad coalition of human rights organizations signed the letter. Organizations include labor unions; religious and educational groups and institutions; Hispanic Federation, LULAC, Puerto Rico Equality Forum , NAACP, and other heritage groups representing Hispanic and other ethnic groups; Oxfam and other charitable groups; and political groups.

The letter began with a clear statement asking the committee to help Puerto Rico:

The undersigned organizations strongly support the bipartisan request for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to hold hearings to assess and address the ongoing education and health crisis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the destructive hurricanes Irma and Maria.

It has been well over 100 days since the hurricanes made landfall, and American citizens are still struggling to regain basic living essentials. While some progress has been made, the U.S. territories are not only in recovery mode, their citizens are fighting to survive.

The request referenced in the first paragraph is a letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), and Tim Kaine (D-VA). This letter, addressed to Senator Alexander, asks that the HELP committee begin hearings on the affected territories immediately.

Read more: https://www.puertoricoreport.com/human-rights-organizations-nationwide-request-help-puerto-rico/#.WmwVk3xG3RY