How Much Money Has United States Given Puerto Rico For Hurricane Maria
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Newly obtained documents reveal that in the twelvemonth and a one-half following Hurricane Maria, which caused an estimated $ninety billion of harm in Puerto Rico, the Federal Emergency Management Agency but sent $three.three billion in federal disaster aid to local authorities in the U.S. territory. Not only do these records undercut Trump'due south claim at the time that Puerto Rico had received $91 billion in federal aid, but they make Trump'due south new $13 billion FEMA assist bundle for Puerto Rico look even more politically motivated.
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, killing around 3,000 people and destroying the islands' electrical system. A year and a half later, in April 2019, Trump tweeted that "Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more than money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before & all their local politicians practise is mutter & ask for more than coin." It was clear at the time that Trump's number was incorrect , and so Coiffure requested records from FEMA to come across how much coin had really been allocated and granted to local authorities by the agency for disaster relief in Puerto Rico.
While these records are non a full accounting of the entire federal government's disaster help to the territory, they show that much of the $15 billion obligated by FEMA had not actually been spent.
What we practise know is that past April 10, 2019, when CREW sent the request, FEMA had granted only $three.three billion in disaster relief to the government of Puerto Rico, or just over 59% of obligated public assistance funds, the FEMA documents reveal . The agency had as well delivered none of the $16 million obligated toward hazard mitigation.
The relatively pocket-sized amount given to Puerto Rico's government by FEMA in the backwash of the hurricane calls into question the timing of last week's White House announcement of a new $thirteen billion relief packet for the territory. Trump'south announcement of $13 billion in aid just 46 days before the election, granted through FEMA and largely directed toward the authorities-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, is roughly four times the amount of money given to local authorities by the agency in the 18 months immediately following the disaster. At the time, Trump railed on Puerto Rico'due south politicians for asking for relief, only now with the ballot approaching, his approach has changed dramatically.
The Puerto Rican population in Florida may well play a critical role in Trump's performance in the state, one commentator pointed out. A big proportion of those who left the island following the hurricane settled in Florida.
If Trump is using federal disaster assist to boost back up in a critical swing state simply weeks earlier the election, it would be incredibly troubling, only inappreciably surprising. This would not be the first time he has used taxpayer dollars to advance his own political interests. In fact, withholding federal aid for political reasons is precisely what he was impeached for earlier this year.
Source: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/records-reveal-1-5-years-after-hurricane-maria-fema-had-sent-only-3-3-billion-to-puerto-rican-govt/
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