Hit by devastating earthquakes, Puerto Rico still waiting on billions for hurricane relief
Pelosi calls on administration to ‘cease and desist’ its ‘unlawful’ withholding of funds
By Erica Werner
The Washington Post, Jan. 9, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EST
As Puerto Rico weathers devastating earthquakes, the island is still waiting on more than $18 billion in federal funding that was designated after hurricanes that struck more than two years ago. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused the Trump administration of acting unlawfully in withholding the money and called on officials to “cease and desist that illegal activity.”
The holdup has continued past a congressionally mandated deadline last fall for more than $8 billion of the aid to be officially announced. As aftershocks continued to shake the U.S. territory after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake Tuesday morning, Democrats sought to refocus attention on the delayed hurricane aid, while questioning whether the federal government will give Puerto Rico what it needs to recover this time.
“I think it puts a considerable burden on the administration to show good faith,” said Rep. David E. Price (D-N.C.), pointing to President Trump’s history of criticizing Puerto Rico and moving to slow the disbursement of money. “And in this case, good faith involves not just responding to this latest disaster, but cleaning up from the previous one as well.”
An ongoing dispute over Puerto Rico could also become an issue in the presidential election. Residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in federal elections, even though they are U.S. citizens, but many live and cast ballots in Florida, a critical swing state.
Trump’s opposition to sending aid to Puerto Rico stalled a major nationwide disaster relief bill last year and led to disputes with Democrats. The island’s governor at the time, Ricardo Rosselló, described Trump as a “bully” and threatened to punch him in the mouth.
Continues...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/01/09/hit-by-devastating-earthquakes-puerto-rico-still-waiting-billions-hurricane-relief/
= new reply since forum marked as read
