Smith says Trump must increase federal aid to Puerto Rico
HAMILTON » Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey has joined a congressional bipartisan call urging President Donald Trump to do more to help hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
“The people of Puerto Rico are suffering from the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Maria and need comprehensive humanitarian aid and federal support,” Smith said Friday in a press statement. “In addition to food, water and medical assistance, communication system restoration and infrastructure rebuilding are critical parts of the emergency response.”
Smith, who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives panel on global human rights, added: “We must take action to ensure that all federal agencies are able to deploy the assets at their disposal without any more red tape.”
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory with a population of close to 3.5 million, was hit hard by Hurricane Maria about two weeks ago. Due to the destruction of the Category 4 storm, millions as of Saturday remain without access to electricity, food or water. As of Friday morning, there have been 16 deaths directly related to the storm, and without action, this number is expected to increase.
Trump, in response to the devastation, has waived the Jones Act, a law dating from the 1920s that requires all ships that go from one American port to another to be American ships. Even as the waiver has provided additional aid to the ports of Puerto Rico, distributing supplies on the island has been a challenge due to the damaged infrastructure.
“The waiving of the Jones Act has provided the opportunity to get aid to the people of Puerto Rico,” Smith said in his statement. “However, 10 days is not enough. As we have seen in past hurricanes, and in particular Superstorm Sandy, the rebuilding process can take months or years before individuals can see a semblance of normal life. Puerto Rico needs more than 10 days and the waiver should be extended.”
Members of Congress on Thursday sent Trump a letter urging him “to immediately deploy all available federal assets and relevant federal agencies to Puerto Rico for the express purpose of reestablishing telecommunications services such as telephone, cellular phone, and internet services in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
Smith represents parts of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties, lives in Robbinsville and has offices in Hamilton. 2010 U.S. Census data show New Jersey had 434,092 residents who identified themselves as Puerto Rican that year, which was almost 5 percent of the state’s population.