How Much Money Sent To Puerto Rico

Workers restore power lines damaged by Hurricane Maria in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, in 2017. The Trump assistants says information technology volition award nearly $13 billion in infrastructure grants to assistance the isle recover from the storm that hit iii years ago. Ramon Espinosa/AP hide caption

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Ramon Espinosa/AP

Workers restore power lines damaged by Hurricane Maria in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, in 2017. The Trump administration says it will award nearly $13 billion in infrastructure grants to aid the island recover from the storm that striking three years ago.

Ramon Espinosa/AP

Puerto Rico is being promised nearly $13 billion in federal disaster funding to repair its electric and education infrastructure three years after Hurricane Maria'due south devastation and six weeks earlier the presidential ballot.

The Federal Emergency Management Bureau plans to award 2 separate grants to assistance rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical grid system and educational facilities, the White House announced Friday.

"Today's grant announcements stand for some of the largest awards in FEMA'southward history for any single disaster recovery consequence and demonstrate the Federal Government'due south continuing commitment to aid rebuild the territory and support the citizens of Puerto Rico and their recovery goals," the White House statement said.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm in September 2017, killing at least iii,000 residents and essentially destroying an electrical system that was already unreliable. Parts of the island remained without power for almost a year.

When asked why he had announced the plans 46 days earlier an ballot, and not in the aftermath of the devastating storm three years agone, President Trump blamed Democrats and said, "We've been working on information technology for a long time."

The White House said $nine.half-dozen billion in federal funding will help the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority "repair and replace thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines, electrical substations, ability generation systems [and] role buildings," and make other improvements to the grid.

An additional $two billion grant to Puerto Rico'due south Department of Education will become toward restoring school buildings and other educational facilities. Officials in Puerto Rico have sought to overhaul the public school system in Maria'southward backwash, including by allowing charter schools, despite backfire from teachers.

"Our schools and our electrical system require priority attending, particularly later on the natural events that Puerto Rico has experienced during the by iii years," Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez said, adding that the funds will go toward services essential to the public.

Vázquez also said that the funding is thanks to the piece of work of, and good relations with, the White House and Trump.

Congress originally allocated the aid in 2018, but it has been held up as local and federal governments wrangled over how much repairs would cost and what kind of controls would exist placed on spending.

In August 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development placed restrictions on the flow of aid to Puerto Rico. But it also announced the release of billions of dollars to sure states hitting by natural disasters, drawing criticism for existence stricter toward Puerto Rico than other jurisdictions.

The administration has cited concerns most alleged "mismanagement and corruption" in Puerto Rico every bit the reason for the holdup.

Before this year, HUD released its hold on more than $8 billion in aid, which was supposed to accomplish the island in September 2019.

Recovery efforts following hurricanes Maria and Irma have been slow in Puerto Rico, and the Trump administration has faced criticism over its response. In 2018, an internal FEMA report constitute that the agency failed to ready properly for the previous year's hurricane season and did not adequately support the affected regions.

Trump has disputed the number of hurricane-related deaths on the island and called the federal government'due south response to Maria "an incredible, unsung success."

On Fri, Autonomous lawmakers raised questions about the timing of the funding announcement. Both Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are courtship the Latino vote in Florida, a major swing state.

During a visit to Florida this week, Biden focused outreach efforts on the Puerto Rican community and appear a programme to assist with the island'south recovery from economic challenges as well as natural disasters.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-Northward.Y., pointed out in a statement that the Trump administration waited to allocate necessary funds until just earlier the election.

"While I certainly hope to run into this money put to good use making Puerto Rico's electric system more resilient, these delays are unacceptable, and it is insulting to Puerto Ricans everywhere that the Administration is so blatantly playing politics with this aid," she said.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., chair of the House Commission on Natural Resources, said in a argument that the delay in disaster aid for infrastructure rebuilding will accept long-term economic and political consequences.

"President Trump talks about Puerto Rico like an unwanted colony full of people he thinks are dirty and not worth helping," Grijalva said. "Information technology will have years for Puerto Rico to repair the unnecessary harm this president and his incompetent administration accept caused the Puerto Rican people, and they won't forget it."

Source: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/914466896/trump-administration-announces-nearly-13-billion-in-aid-for-puerto-rico

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