SHIP OUTTA LUCK, P.R.
Don: I’m ‘thinking’ aid, but big biz says no Food, water at stake
PRESIDENT Trump debated waiving an obscure 97-year-old shipping law Wednesday as part of the desperate effort to ferry more aid into hurricane-crippled Puerto Rico.
The Jones Act, enacted in 1920 as a hedge against foreign trade competition, was instead tying up relief efforts in red tape and tariffs, according to those urging the White House to sidestep the restriction.
“We’re thinking about that,” said Trump as Puerto Rico struggled to right itself from the lingering devastation of Hurricane Maria.
“But we have a lot of shippers and a lot of people who work in the shipping industry who don’t want the Jones Act lifted. And we have a lot of ships out there right now.”
Lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), were urging Trump to loosen the restriction in hopes of getting more food, water and other supplies into the badly-ravaged island.
“It seems to be getting worse every day,” said Gov. Cuomo, back in New York after viewing the waterlogged nation from a plane and a Humvee. “They’re finding more devastation and destruction day by day.”
Supporters of the waiver hope Trump will suspend the Jones Act for a year, cutting off the additional taxes put on imported goods brought into Puerto Rico.
“Puerto Ricans are without food, clean water and electricity,” said Velazquez. “We must use every tool at our disposal to channel assistance to the island.”
Although Puerto Rican officials praised relief efforts from the Trump administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, many residents said help had yet to extend far enough beyond the capital San Juan.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello conceded there were issues in delivering some of the aid — in part due to a lack of truck drivers.
“We need generators,” said Rossello, speaking Wednesday to CBS News. “We need human resources on the security front. We need truck drivers, believe it or not, and equipment so that we can transport fuel.
“We have fuel, but transportation has been the limiting step.”
Cuomo said 30 New York truck drivers were headed south to help spread the aid across the island. A JetBlue plane loaded with New York supplies was also on its way to Puerto Rico, he said.
Roughly half of the nation’s 3.4 million residents remain without water, and an estimated 97% are still lacking electricity.
Food and water are in short supply in certain areas, and people are waiting in lines for up to six hours in hopes of getting a few gallons of gas.
Sixteen deaths are attributed so far to the hurricane. Before Maria, Hurricane Irma inflicted heavy damage on Puerto Rico as it passed north of the island.
Rapper Pitbull, the son of Cuban immigrants, dispatched his private plane to rescue Puerto Rican cancer patients in need of chemotherapy in the U.S.
His unsolicited assistance drew cheers from Jenniffer Gonzalez
I’ve lost everything, and no one has shown up to see if anyone lives here. ANGEL RODRIGUEZ
(R-P.R.), the island’s nonvoting representative in Congress.
“Thank you Pitbull for lending your private plane to transport cancer patients,” she tweeted. Lack of water and electricity created life-threatening conditions at many Puerto Rican medical centers.
For many Puerto Ricans, recovery from Maria has become a doit-yourself affair.
“Nobody has visited — not from the government, not from the city, no one,” said Antonio Velez, 64, a lifelong resident of the devastated town of Montebello, in an interview with The Associated Press.
Residents of the northern region around Montebello took it upon themselves to hack through fallen trees to clear roads in their mountainous area rather than wait for help.
The same lack of outside aid was true in the southern coastal town of Yabucoa, where Maria first slammed into Puerto Rico with its 155 mph winds.
Resident Angel Rodriguez, 58, said he’s will waiting for any sign of assistance. “Nothing, nothing, nothing,” he told The AP. “I’ve lost everything, and no one has shown up to see if anyone lives here.”
Maria Rodriguez, 64, remembers the vicious pounding inflicted on the island by Hurricane Georges in 1998.
“There’s been no help from the mayor or the federal government,” she said. “After Georges hit us, they responded quickly. But now? Nothing. We need food and water.”