The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would provide an emergency supplemental aid package of more than $36 billion to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., says the emergency package isn’t enough and will actually hurt Puerto Rico’s economy.
“The pittance in this supplemental for Puerto Rico is the least we can do. In fact it’s less than the least we can do. Because it actually adds to the debt that Puerto Rico now has. It adds $5 billion to the $74 billion that is owed by Puerto Rico.
This measure must be followed by stronger, more robust steps. The damage done to the island was in the range of $100 billion. That is a rough estimate. That $100 billion must not only be reinvested, it must be used to provide resilience.”
Blumenthal was speaking on the Senate floor on Tuesday. The $5 billion is a loan program that Puerto Rico can use to take care of basic infrastructure issues. Puerto Rico will have to pay that back.
Blumenthal is calling on Congress and the Trump administration to appoint a disaster relief czar, “who can cut through the red tape and the bureaucratic lack of cohesion and get this job done, who can tell the Corps of Engineers what the deadlines are and bring together the leadership of Puerto Rico.”
Blumenthal says the U.S. government will shortchange Puerto Rico if it fails to provide more resources and leadership.
