Tag: Puerto Rico

DNC on Anniversary of Hurricane Maria

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement on the anniversary of Hurricane Maria:

“One year ago, more than three million Americans in Puerto Rico faced one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the island. The storm’s devastation demanded swift and decisive action from the president, but Donald Trump watched and waited. He failed to immediately authorize all of the disaster-relief tools at FEMA’s disposal. And it was a week before he lifted the Jones Act, preventing desperately-needed supplies from reaching the island. Homes were destroyed, stranded families cried out for help getting food and water, and sick patients lost access to life-saving care as hospitals struggled to operate without electricity.

“Ultimately, nearly 3,000 American citizens died because of Hurricane Maria. And as their families still mourn and seek answers, the president has had the gall to deny the truth about the death toll while declaring that he did a fantastic job. This is the terrible cost of incompetence and cruelty in the Oval Office. Democrats believe that the federal government has a solemn responsibility to protect American citizens, especially in the wake of natural disasters. And we will hold Trump and Republican lawmakers accountable for their failure to lead on Election Day.”

Trump’s Puerto Rico tweets spark backlash

President Trump roiled Democrats and Republicans alike on Thursday with a pair of tweets alleging that Democrats inflated statistics on the number of people killed by hurricanes last year in Puerto Rico.
“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico,” Trump tweeted. He went on to claim, without evidence, that the number was purposefully exaggerated by Democrats “to make me look as bad as possible.”

Continue reading “Trump’s Puerto Rico tweets spark backlash”

Trump says Puerto Rico death toll inflated by Democrats: ‘3000 people did not die’

President Trump on Thursday accused Democrats, without evidence, of inflating the 3,000-person death count from last year’s hurricanes in Puerto Rico in order “to make me look bad.”

The stunning accusation is Trump’s latest attempt to defend his handling of natural disasters as Hurricane Florence bears down on the Southeastern U.S.

In a pair of tweets, Trump disputed an independent report commissioned by Puerto Rico’s government that raised the death toll from Hurricane Maria to 2,975.

View the complete September 13 article by Jordan Fabian on the Hill website here.

‘Never give an inch’: Trump keeps touting perceived failures as successes

President Trump on Sept. 11 praised his administration’s response to the damage to Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, where the death toll was nearly 3,000. (The Washington Post)

An estimated 3,000 people died after the devastating Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico last year. Large swaths of the island were without power for months. FEMA was short thousands of workers and underestimated how much food and supplies were needed in the recovery, according to a federal government report.

But in the eyes of President Trump, the government’s response was a raging success — and one he touted this week as a monstrous hurricane pinwheeled toward the Carolinas.

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan),” he wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

View the complete post by Josh Dawsey posted September 12, 2018, on the Washington Post website here.

Want to Know More About: Puerto Rico?

Major Garrett: “A Killer Storm Last Year Hurricane Maria Triggered Renewed Scrutiny. The President Praised The Federal Response In The Face Of Fresh Reports That 3,000 Died And Months Passed Before Electricity Was Restored To Populated Areas Of Puerto Rico.” MAJOR GARRETT: “But a killer storm last year hurricane Maria triggered renewed scrutiny. The President praised the federal response in the face of fresh reports that 3,000 died and months passed before electricity was restored to populated areas of Puerto Rico.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 9/12/18; Video]

David Gregory: “We Know About This President Is That That Doesn’t Matter As Much As Taking On All Comers Who Would Criticize Him And To Project A Story That Is Belied By Facts On The Ground. The Notion He Would Take On The Local Mayor In Such A Fashion Is Not Surprising.” DAVID GREGORY: “It clearly was not a success. And any leader looking at that would try to learn from those lessons about federal response, about state and local response. But what we know about this president is that that doesn’t matter as much as taking on all comers who would criticize him and to project a story that is belied by facts on the ground. The notion he would take on the local mayor in such a fashion is not surprising. It just fits a pattern.” [New Day, CNN, 9/12/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Puerto Rico?”

Study: Hurricane Maria and its aftermath caused a spike in Puerto Rico deaths, with nearly 3,000 more than normal

The following article by Arelis R. Hernández, Samantha Schmidt and Joel Achenbach was posted on the Washington Post website August 28, 2018:

Following the release of a report, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló raised the island’s official toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975 on Aug. 28. (Ricardo Rossello)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico led to a spike in mortality across the U.S. territory, with an estimated 2,975 excess deaths in the six months after the storm made landfall in September 2017, according to a sweeping report from George Washington University released Tuesday.

The government of Puerto Rico on Tuesday embraced the GWU estimate as the official death toll, ranking Maria among the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. For much of the past year, the government had formally acknowledged just 64 deaths from the hurricane, which ravaged much of the territory and destroyed critical infrastructure. The spike in mortality came as the territory dealt with widespread and lengthy power outages, a lack of access to adequate health care, water insecurity and diseases related to the crisis.

The new study, requested by the governor of Puerto Rico, examined an unusually long period of time following the storm — six months — in an attempt to detect the hurricane’s lingering, indirect effects on mortality. The investigation looked at the total number of deaths from September 2017 through February 2018, and compared it with typical death rates, adjusting for many variables, including the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who evacuated the territory after the storm struck on Sept. 20.

Puerto Rico Utility Workers Charge That Federal Government Is Hoarding Reconstruction Supplies

The following article by Kate Aronoff was posted on the Intercept website January 16, 2018:

Credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

After armed federal agents entered a warehouse owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as PREPA, on January 6, they said the warehouse had contained rebuilding materials that they seized to distribute on the island. The Intercept’s report on the incident has led to calls on the island for criminal prosecutions of PREPA officials, with the governor referring the matter to the Department of Justice.

“PREPA affirms that the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] and their contractors have had access to them since before the alleged discovery,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló wrote in the statement asking the Department of Justice to investigate the matter. “Therefore, we are referring the matter to the Department of Justice in order to analyze the facts and determine whether there was a commission of crimes or negligent action.” Continue reading “Puerto Rico Utility Workers Charge That Federal Government Is Hoarding Reconstruction Supplies”

Trump systematically alienates the Latino diaspora — from El Salvador to Puerto Rico and Mexico

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website January 9, 2018:

Protesters gathered in front of the White House on Jan. 8 to defend Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans living in the U.S. (@nostredamnz/ Instagram)

THE BIG IDEA: A Manchurian Candidate who was secretly trying to alienate Hispanics would be hard pressed to do as much damage to the Republican brand as President Trump.

The administration announced Monday that it will terminate the provisional residency permits of about 200,000 Salvadorans who have lived in the United States since at least 2001, leaving them to face deportation. Trump previously ended what is known as Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguans and Haitians, and he’s expected to cut off Hondurans later this year. Continue reading “Trump systematically alienates the Latino diaspora — from El Salvador to Puerto Rico and Mexico”

One potential loser in the new GOP tax bill: Puerto Rico

The following article by Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website December 20, 2017:

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello (center) addresses reporters next to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen ( left) and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson as they toured hurricane devastation on the island on Dec. 19, 2017. (Alvin Baez/Reuters)

Puerto Rico’s governor is warning that the sweeping tax plan passed by congressional Republicans on Wednesday could deliver a “crippling blow” to the island’s already-fragile economy, still reeling from the effects of major hurricanes.

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló (D) is calling on lawmakers to rewrite a key part of the tax bill that he says might cause the island’s hefty manufacturing sector to contract, jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Supporters of the tax bill who track Puerto Rico’s concerns closely said they are hoping to make minor changes to the new law — but that the new business tax is likely to survive.

The tax bill passed overwhelmingly in the House on Wednesday includes a new 12.5 percent tax on profits derived from intellectual property held by foreign companies — a move designed to compel those companies to move back to the United States. Puerto Rico is considered part of the United States in all realms except taxes — meaning that island residents don’t pay federal income taxes but do pay into Social Security. Companies based on the island are treated as if they were located in other Caribbean tax havens not under an American flag. Continue reading “One potential loser in the new GOP tax bill: Puerto Rico”