Get ready for Maria’s Fla. impact
With President Trump scheduled to arrive in Puerto Rico today for his first visit since Hurricane Maria slammed ashore almost two weeks earlier, we’re hopeful he’ll use the opportunity to accomplish multiple goals:
Take inventory straight from leaders on the island on just what’s needed, and kick federal recovery efforts into higher gear.
Comfort these Americans amid lingering and widespread power outages and shortages of running water, food, medicine and other basics.
Rally the thousands of civilian and military personnel distributing aid.
Persuade Congress to provide the additional funds that will be needed to complete the long-term project of rebuilding the island.
Trump will undercut these goals if he can’t stand down in the Twitter war he launched this past weekend to defend the recovery effort. Take the tweet accusing the outspoken mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital, Carmen Yulin Cruz, of “poor leadership” after she channeled the desperation of islanders in pleading for more help. Or the tweet calling critics of the recovery “politically motivated ingrates.”
Yes, federal employees have been working tirelessly to help Puerto Rico under challenging circumstances. But these tweets from the president were graceless, petty and callous amid the human suffering on the island. And no, his dedication of a trophy from a golf tournament to storm victims wasn’t enough to make amends.
Trump could benefit with some pointers from his political ally, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, on a better way to respond to the disaster. Last week Scott visited Puerto Rico to meet with its governor, Ricardo Rossello, and to make available help from the Florida National Guard and other state agencies. He persuaded most public colleges and universities to offer lower-cost in-state tuition to Puerto Ricans who flee the island for Florida.
Then on Monday, Scott declared a state of emergency in all 67 of the state’s counties “to ensure Florida has every available resource ready to assist families displaced by Hurricane Maria” — another productive, proactive measure. He also announced the opening of disaster relief centers for those families at Orlando International Airport, Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami to help match them with benefits and services, including access to public education.
Frank Lopez, the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for metro Orlando, predicted to the Sentinel that as many as 250,000 people could leave Puerto Rico. Many will relocate to Central Florida, already home to about 320,000 Puerto Ricans. Some Central Florida legislators called Sunday for a special session to prepare the state for refugees from the storm. Scott and legislative leaders should be open to that possibility, if the numbers swell quickly.
Whether it’s in a special session or the regular session that begins in January, legislators will need to make sure that education, health care, social services, job training and other public services aren’t overwhelmed by the demand from displaced Puerto Ricans. This will require careful planning and adequate funding. It would make good sense for state House and Senate leaders to designate committees to focus on preparing for the influx.
Government agencies won’t be able to handle the influx alone. Nonprofit organizations providing food, housing and job-placement services also will need to augment their efforts. They’ll need more contributions from generous individuals and businesses to keep up.
While Florida needs to be ready to take in and help families displaced by the storm, Puerto Ricans who want to stay on the island shouldn’t feel forced to flee by unrelenting hardship. That’s a good reason to be rooting for the president’s visit today to pick up the pace on Puerto Rico’s recovery.