00:00I now recognize Mr. Hernandez for five minutes of questioning.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Secretary, hi. I represent Puerto Rico in Congress, and although we may disagree as to how, I do agree that disaster response in this country needs to be reimagined and made more effective.
00:18And I sincerely look forward to and hope to be a constructive partner in that respect.
00:24But, you know, nearly eight years after Hurricane Maria struck the island, we have around $27 billion that have been obligated for Puerto Rico, yet only $4.4 billion have been dispersed.
00:37In the interest of time, I appreciate brief answers because there's a lot of anxiety in the island as to the future of these funds.
00:44Can you assure the people of Puerto Rico that these obligated funds are safe regardless of any FEMA restructuring?
00:51That is the biggest concern that we have within FEMA right now is outstanding claims.
00:56And the worst thing the federal government can do is to say that there is a claim here, it's valid, that we are committed to fulfilling that responsibility.
01:05I'm sorry, in the interest of time, could you say yes or no?
01:07So those claims are something my team is going through right now and evaluating, and President Trump is committed.
01:12I will assume that the answer is no, and I'll proceed to the next question.
01:16And I hope that we can work to make sure that those funds get to the people.
01:19Is it your department's view that the Puerto Rico government has done everything in its power to expedite the reconstruction process?
01:27Oh, I believe that Puerto Rico has been working hard to reconstruct and to put itself back together in partnering with the federal government as well.
01:34So is the obstacle in the disbursements FEMA's fault?
01:38The what?
01:38Is the obstacle in these disbursements FEMA's responsibility?
01:41I don't have the knowledge to know specifically where all the problems are with the response in Puerto Rico,
01:47although I do know that FEMA has not fulfilled the obligations it previously promised to the island.
01:52I'm going to shift to immigration in the interest of time.
01:55So you served as governor of South Dakota.
01:58Would you advise governors to give public assurances that federal immigration enforcement will not take place in their state?
02:05Would I advise to governors that they not?
02:10That they give public assurances that immigration enforcement will not occur in their states?
02:15No, I prefer that governors partner with us to make their states safer.
02:19I believe that the relationships that we have on the ground in many states is absolutely critical to making sure...
02:26So the answer is no.
02:27You would not advise them to tell their constituents, no, there will not be any enforcement in this state.
02:32Would you have publicly told immigrants as governor in your state not to worry about deportations because your state wasn't a border state like Texas or California?
02:43I felt as though my state was a border state because we were every day impacted by the drug trafficking and the human trafficking that was coming over the border and had put a foothold in the state of South Dakota.
02:54Every state was dramatically impacted.
02:56Okay, so you would not have told immigrants in your state, don't worry about deportation.
03:03You would not have said that.
03:04The laws need to apply equally to everybody.
03:06That's what is so discouraging about the previous administration is they picked winners and losers.
03:11So the question has been answered.
03:13That's fine.
03:14You would not say that.
03:15You would tell your constituents immigration laws will be enforced in this state whether or not we are a border state like California or Texas.
03:23Laws will be enforced, absolutely.
03:25In January, the governor of Puerto Rico made an opposite claim.
03:28She told immigrants not to worry about deportations because we're not Texas or California.
03:33Days later, ICE conducted enforcement operations in immigrant neighborhoods in San Juan.
03:40Was that a responsible thing to say?
03:42I didn't hear her say that and haven't heard this before, but I believe that the partnerships we have with governors is extremely powerful in keeping their communities safe.
03:50That's a no-answer.
03:52Was she aware?
03:53Was she briefed by DHS about the immigrant raids that would happen in the issuing days?
03:57I have no knowledge to that situation.
03:59What I will tell you is that every governor that I know of feels the responsibility of protecting their state,
04:05and they should be making the best decisions to secure their communities and their families that live there.
04:10And that includes telling people in their states or jurisdictions the administration's policy is that there will be raids to detain people who were undocumented in their jurisdictions,
04:22not to tell them, don't worry, this will not happen here.
04:27I am not certain as to the situation you're speaking to.
04:30I'll get more information so that I can respond to you appropriately.
04:33Hypothetically, as governor, would you have told the people of your state the laws will be enforced here as in any other state?
04:43What I would tell my people of South Dakota is that my job is to work for them and to represent them and to be their leader and protect their best interests.
04:50That includes making sure that citizens of South Dakota are my number one priority every day.
04:56I understand that, and I thank you for your time.
04:58And like I said at the beginning of my turn, I do look forward to working constructively on ways to reimagine FEMA and disaster response
05:05and to make sure that those funds, which today you have told us, are not guaranteed for the people of Puerto Rico,
05:11are guaranteed and delivered on time.
05:13Chairman's time is expired.
05:15I now recognize Mr. Littrell for five minutes of questioning.