Pence offers assurances on Puerto Rico
‘We won’t stop until the job is done,’ he tells Florida crowd
KISSIMMEE – As criticism increases of the federal response to Hurricane Maria, Vice President Mike Pence visited Central Florida on Thursday and promised the administration is doing all it can to help hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
“We will tirelessly reach every road and every community to bring aid to every Puerto Rican in need, and we will not stop until the job is done,” Pence told a crowd of about 300 at Iglesia de Dios in Kissimmee, which he called “the heart of the Puerto Rican community in Florida.”
Pence’s visit to Central Florida, the first stop on a trip that will take him to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, comes after President Donald Trump was criticized for his tweets and comments about Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Maria.
The vice president toured the disaster-relief center at Orlando International Airport before heading to Iglesia de Dios, which has been a donation center since Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20.
Pence said the church had already filled 15 trucks with items and bought 150 generators to be sent to Puerto Rico, where the vast majority of people are expected to be without power for weeks or months.
“Florida’s response set the standard for the nation,” Pence said.
On the stage — where he was joined by officials including U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson — were examples of items being collected, including crackers, tissues and paper towels. Pence later helped volunteers load bottled water and other supplies onto a truck for transport to the islands.
The vice president praised Trump and his response to the storm, which has been the subject of controversy after Trump’s visit to the island this week. While there, he talked about how much the recovery would impact the budget and said Maria was not a “real catastrophe” like Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Earlier, Trump had harsh words for the mayor of San Juan, calling her an “ingrate,” and said locals should help more with the recovery effort.
Pence said the president understands what Puerto Ricans are going through, quoting him as saying: “When one part of America hurts, we all hurt. When one part of America struggles, we all struggle.”
The entire administration, Pence said, “worked tirelessly” to provide the full range of federal resources, including shipping 11.5 million meals and 8 million liters of water so far.
“Every day, more federal officials step ashore,” Pence said. “There are more than 15,000 dedicated federal officials on the ground reaching out.”
He also said 14 Navy and Coast Guard ships have been dispatched to the area.
“The truth is, Hurricane Maria was an extraordinary storm with extraordinary damage, and it will be a long way back,” he said. “But I am here to report we are making progress.”
Pence said that threequarters of gas stations in Puerto Rico are open along with two-thirds of supermarkets. In addition, three-quarters of the island’s ports are now operating along with 50 hospitals and dialysis centers.
From the church pulpit, he also spoke multiple times about faith, saying: “The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve.”