Several New England U.S. Senators are among those urging federal officials to make sure the hurricane death toll in Puerto Rico is accurate.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, the senators cited several media reports which claim the number of dead because of Hurricane Maria could be much higher than the official figure of 48.
Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said this is about more than ensuring accurate record-keeping.
"President Trump seems to be using the number of fatalities to determine the quality of the disaster response," Warren said. "If we have the right numbers here, we might get a stronger response."
Homeland Security officials said they will not comment on congressional correspondence.
It is a disgrace that the most powerful nation on earth is not laser-focused on the humanitarian crisis impacting millions of its citizens.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 19, 2017
Warren's letter was signed by 12 other senators, including Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal and New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen – all Democrats – along with independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
This report comes from the New England News Collaborative, eight public media companies coming together to tell the story of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
