Blumenthal seeks more money for Puerto Rico
Senator who recently toured damage wants $4.67B in federal funds
HARTFORD — On the heels of his two-day tour of the earthquake devastation in Puerto Rico, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling for a modern “Marshall Plan” to rebuild schools, hospitals and power plants across the disaster-stricken island.
Blumenthal spoke at the Spanish American Merchants Association in Hartford after returning from Puerto Rico, where he says he witnessed the continued impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the new destruction wrought by earthquakes, which have been shaking the southwestern part of the island since late December.
He argues the U.S. respond to the crisis within its own borders with an economic recovery program like the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948, which sent billions of dollars in aid to Western Europe to rebuild infrastructure and modernize industries following World War II. Blumenthal proposes the Trump administration release available funds to Puerto Rico, the Senate approve $4.67 billion in supplemental funding — an initiative already approved by the U.S. House of Representatives — and the
federal government remove the existing annual caps on Puerto Rico’s Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP spending.
The same spending ceilings are not imposed on the 50 states or the District of Columbia.
“The need to face the challenges in Puerto Rico offers a tremendous opportunity,” Blumenthal said. “This next generation Marshall Plan can unlock growth and prosperity in Puerto Rico. This nation has failed them too often and too long and we owe them what we would provide to any other state in the country.”
He described witnessing children being taught and treated in tents due to the structural damage of schools and health care facilities. The country will also face greater problems with power outages as the weather warms, he said.
“If children were going to school in tents, if all the schools of Connecticut were closed or even in certain parts of our state, there would be a national outcry and uproar,” Blumenthal said. “That’s the kind of energy we need to devote to Puerto Rico for the sake of the children there.”
Until steps are taken, progress will remain stalled and recovery stalemated, he said.
The situation on the island has prompted many families to relocate to the mainland. Nearly 250 new students have enrolled in Connecticut public schools since December 28, including 70 in Hartford — home to the fifth largest Puerto Rican population among mainland cities — and 69 in Waterbury, officials have said.
Last week, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that Connecticut will direct $75,000 toward housing support for those transplants.
Yanil Terón, executive director of the Center for Latino Progress, said the natural disasters have exacerbated the island’s economic depression and debt crisis. Blumenthal said Puerto Rico is on the brink of bankruptcy.
But the hurricane and earthquakes have also revealed another challenge, an attitude of hostility and oppression from the Trump administration, Terón said Monday.
“Although we are American citizens, we have no say in who the next president will be or who will represent us in Congress,” Terón said.
Blumenthal echoed her, saying the White House has yet to release tens of billions of dollars in aid that’s been allocated to Puerto Rico. As The Washington Post reported in January, the Trump administration has also imposed severe restrictions on its emergency relief, such as blocking Puerto Rico from spending available money on the island’s electrical grid.
While Congress has approved $42 billion for the island’s recovery, only a portion of that has been allocated and only a tiny fraction has been spent.
“It has been blocked and it’s inexplicable and inexcusable, because our fellow Americans need that investment,” Blumenthal said.
The senator said he will look to his colleagues in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida for support.