Brian Schatz: “I rise in support of the package of bills on the Senate floor. But first, I want to share a brief update on the…”

“I rise in support of the package of bills on the Senate floor. But first, I want to share a brief update on the situation on Maui. We are now a month on from the devastating wildfires that killed 115 people and leveled the town of Lahaina. After a weekslong search and recovery effort for remains, we have entered a new phase of the response. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun removing toxic household materials and waste so that residents can return to their homes safely. It is a painstaking process that is likely to take several months to complete. Life in Lahaina is still not normal. Forty-two people are still missing. That is down from an initial count of nearly 3,000. More than 7,000 people are living in temporary housing like hotels and Airbnbs. Three thousand students are displaced from their schools. And the local economy is reeling without tourism. Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Hundreds of people--restaurant workers, hotel workers, helicopter tour operators--are being laid off. More than 10,000 people filed for unemployment in the 3 weeks following the fires. In total, the economic impact of the fires is estimated at nearly $2 billion through next year. That is not counting the damage. That is the economic impact. It is hard to overstate how much help the people of Maui need. To date, more than 15,000 survivors have applied for FEMA assistance.…”