Let’s not forget our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico
There is news of problems being experienced by the people of Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, including a city ordinance that prohibits people from living in trailers on their property as they try to rebuild, to the difficulty of coping with great emotional stress (“Grief hits Harvey survivors months after storm,” Jan. 8). There is no doubt that this country should be doing all that it can to help the survivors of this horrendous storm.
If we can afford to give billionaires a tax cut that will add $1.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, there is no excuse for not providing all that is needed to help those devastated by Hurricane Harvey. However, somehow missing from this discussion is the appalling lack of support our president and Republican Congress is providing to the people of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The devastation to the island of Puerto Rico has been incalculable. Months after the hurricane, most of the island is still without electricity and potable water. More than 1,000 may have died and more continue to die. Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s economy; without jobs, how can people hope to rebuild their lives on the island that is their home?
The people of Puerto Rico are Americans. They deserve the same help recovering as Houston, New Orleans and any other place in America that has suffered such devastation. Yet, rather than providing help, our president and the Republican Congress have gone out of their way to make it even more difficult for Puerto Rico to recover.
In the name of protecting American jobs, the tax bill just passed by the Republican Congress — without any votes from Senate Democrats — and signed into law by President Trump, imposes new duties on goods imported from other countries. The Republicans intentionally included a provision in the tax bill that treats Puerto Rico as a foreign country. This will make it even more difficult to rebuild the island’s economy. Why take this punitive action?
Sure, Puerto Rico is not part of the mainland United States, but neither is Hawaii. Perhaps racism. Perhaps some other incomprehensible reason. I don’t know. But what I do know is that Puerto Rico desperately needs its country’s help. Let’s not forget our fellow Americans.