WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration's decision to impose conditions on $16 billion in disaster relief money for Puerto Rico's cash-strapped government drew harsh criticism from congressional Democrats on Thursday.
Instead of sending the funds without strings attached, the disaster funds disbursed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development will receive additional scrutiny from Puerto Rico's Fiscal Control Board, an appointed body responsible for restructuring Puerto Rico's debt. Federal contractors doing disaster relief work can also be paid less than $15 per hour, despite an executive order signed by the governor of Puerto Rico in 2018 mandating a $15 per hour minimum wage for government contract work.
"It's been almost 2 { years since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, but the Trump administration continues delaying the disbursement of billions of dollars in disaster relief for Puerto Rico," Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., said in a statement. "Rebuilding Puerto Rico cannot continue to be postponed due to bureaucratic inertia in Washington."
Additional conditions include Puerto Rico creating a new system to register properties and deeds and the funds cannot be spent on the territory's porous electrical grid, which took months to rebuild after Hurricane Maria.
The Trump administration said the conditions are necessary to combat corruption.
"In a great win for Puerto Ricans and U.S. taxpayers, the administration has outlined reforms for the grant agreement to Puerto Rico in order to protect resources," Office of Management and Budget spokesperson Chase Jennings said in a statement.
On Wednesday, former Puerto Rico Education Secretary Julia Keleher was indicted on allegations she used school land for personal gain. Previously, in September 2019, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator was arrested after she was accused of taking bribes from the president of a company that landed $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico's electric grid.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the top Democrat on the House Committee responsible for Puerto Rico oversight, blasted the conditions for disaster aid, which were first reported by The Washington Post.
"If the president neglected recovery efforts on the mainland as badly as he's done in Puerto Rico, we'd be talking about another Hurricane Katrina," Grijalva said. "The president considers disaster recovery money nothing more than a bargaining chip in his petty ... political vendetta against people of color. Claiming you're worried about corruption when in reality you're illegally withholding appropriated funding as part of a personal political agenda is itself a corrupt act."
But Republicans are on board with the conditions.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he's "supportive of the pathway" laid out by the Trump administration for Puerto Rico to receive disaster funds, though he wants additional details from the Puerto Rican government on how the conditions would affect Puerto Rico.
"There's been ongoing concerns about the ability to spend this money and that's what they've outlined to me, the ability to spend this money effectively and in time," Rubio said. "The fiscal control board, that's an ongoing source of friction over there in terms of where that money should be deposited and where it goes, but we're just trying to work through it and I keep talking to the administration. But at least there's a path to getting the money out which has been the challenge."
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, who has traveled to Puerto Rico frequently as a U.S. senator, said he's "still reviewing the details" of the disaster aid conditions.
"Senator Scott has spoken to President Trump and thanked Secretary Carson yesterday for releasing the funds, and for heeding his call to ensure disaster relief funding gets to the Island's families in a transparent and efficient manner," Scott spokesperson Chris Hartline said in a statement.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the availability of $8.2 billion to Puerto Rico for disaster relief Thursday, and guidelines for $8.3 billion in long-term disaster funds designed to improve resiliency during major storms are expected soon.
"Now that proper financial controls are in place, implementing the second phase of Puerto Rico's disaster recovery program can move forward with an extension to its line of credit," HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a statement.
Trump also signed a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico on Thursday in response to ongoing earthquakes hours before Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to speak before a majority-Puerto Rican church in Kissimmee.
Shalala and Florida Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Bill Posey, R-Fla., will visit with Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez on Sunday to examine earthquake damage. Scott made a similar trip last week.
"I am pleased that the federal government has made an additional $8.2 billion available to Puerto Rico, although these congressionally appropriated funds should have been provided much sooner, given that Hurricane Maria devastated the island nearly 2 { years ago," Murphy said in a statement. "These are large sums of money and it is fair for the federal government to attach conditions to these funds to ensure they are used strictly to help Puerto Rico recover and rebuild. However, any conditions imposed should be reasonable and must not result in further delays in getting Puerto Rico the help it desperately needs."
