Disaster relief stuck in gridlock
Trump, Puerto Rico feud as victims try to recover
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is at the center of a political squabble stalling billions in assistance for victims of hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters across the country.
Trump is angry at Puerto Rico, accusing its officials of poor leadership, wasteful spending and not appreciating his administration’s efforts to help.
Democrats who control the House of Representatives are, in turn, mad at Trump for being mad at Puerto Rico.
And Republicans who control the Senate are mad at Democrats for being mad at Trump for being mad at Puerto Rico.
All of this has led to a stalemate in Congress that has bottled up billions in disaster aid meant to assist millions of Americans, including Puerto Rican families still recovering from Hurri
cane Maria, California residents rebuilding from wildfires and Midwestern communities soaked by floods.
Disaster aid bills, much like temporary spending bills to avoid government shutdowns, used to be fairly routine matters on Capitol Hill. But the increasingly sharp partisan divide in the age of Trump has made the routine much more difficult.
Senators have negotiated privately to try to end the standoff, but the delays exact a cost.
Puerto Rico’s nutrition assistance program ran out of money in March, and rebuilding efforts at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida, are set to stop May 1 if funds are not approved.
Puerto Rico – and the feud between Trump and island officials – remains in the eye of the political storm more than 18 months after the devastating hurricane in 2017 that killed thousands and left much of the island without power for months.
Democrats want more than the bill’s $600 million to restart food aid, citing other expenses needed to rebuild. Trump said the island doesn’t deserve more than that.
The expiration of the food aid program has affected about 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico – nearly half the U.S. territory’s population – including more than 300,000 children, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Families hoping for assistance were probably not helped when Trump and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz traded insults last month over the pace of hurricane recovery. Trump called the mayor “crazed.” Cruz called the president “unhinged.”
The tension over aid to Puerto Rico has led to raw feelings between senators as well, notably Republican Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York.
GOP senators said the disaster aid bill the House passed in January must include money for spring floods in the Midwest before they would consider supporting it – aid that congressional Democrats said they have no problem supporting.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., accused Democrats of “shameful” behavior and said they were motivated by a desire to oppose the president.
Schumer lashed out at Trump after the disaster bill died in the Senate this month.
“The administration’s response to this catastrophe can be summed up in two words: cruel, nasty,” Schumer said on the Senate floor before the vote. “They said that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. President Trump tweets while Puerto Rico suffers.”
Rubio, whose state is still recovering from Category 5 Hurricane Michael last year, is among a handful of senators who have personally lobbied the president to help solve the impasse. The Florida senator, whose state includes more than 1.1 million Puerto Ricans, said Congress should approve the $600 million and work on the rest later, but Democrats don’t like that idea because they worry the next emergency aid bill will be even more difficult to pass.
President Donald Trump called San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz “crazed.” Cruz called the president “unhinged.”
After a failed attempt to amend the measure, House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation before they went home that includes an additional $3 billion to address flooding in the Midwest and tornadoes in the South.
That money was added to the disaster relief funding in the previous bill, totaling $17.2 billion in aid.
That legislation is expected to clear the House shortly after it returns next week, but its future is unclear in the Senate.
“Senate Republicans have bent to the will of President Trump and torpedoed relief for all disasters because of the president’s bizarre vendetta against Puerto Rico,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said. “I urge my Republican colleagues to come to their senses and join Democrats in advancing this bill and delivering prompt relief.”