Today U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called on Congress and the Trump administration to act immediately to provide the support Puerto Rico needs after Hurricane Maria’s devastation.
“There is a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico that requires an immediate and unconditional response from Congress, not just the Senate, but from the House and from the President.”
Blumenthal and nine other senators signed a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to quickly take up a bill to provide more aid to Puerto Rico.
The bill would increase funding for FEMA disaster relief fund and the Community Development Block Grants for disaster recovery.
The Trump administration says it’ll present Congress with a Puerto Rico aid package as late as the second week in October. Blumenthal says many will have been without power and necessary resources for nearly three weeks at that point.
“Everyone of the people who lives in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands are Americans. First and foremost they are Americans who are going through one of the toughest period of their lives. A time that no American wants to face alone. And my message to the people of Puerto Rico as well as the United States Virgin Islands, you are not alone. You are not alone in this humanitarian crises, Congress will act.”