WASHINGTON -- As Puerto Rico weathers devastating earthquakes, the island is still waiting on more than $18 billion in federal funding that was designated after hurricanes that struck more than two years ago.
The holdup has continued past a congressionally mandated deadline last fall for more than $8 billion of the aid to be officially announced.
The aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake Tuesday morning that killed one person, injured nine others and severely damaged infrastructure in Puerto Rico's southwest coast is deepening as the island's government says it is overwhelmed.
Complicating efforts to restore power are strong aftershocks, with more than 40 earthquakes with a 3.0-magnitude or higher occurring since Tuesday's quake, according to experts. Every time it shakes, personnel have to evacuate and further damage to the plant's infrastructure is feared, said Daniel Hernandez, who oversees the power grid.
Power company director Jose Ortiz said he expects nearly all customers to have electricity by early next week, adding that extremely preliminary assessments show that at least $50 million in damage occurred.
Democrats are questioning whether the federal government will give Puerto Rico what it needs to recover this time.
"I think it puts a considerable burden on the administration to show good faith," said Rep. David Price, D-N.C. "And in this case, good faith involves not just responding to this latest disaster, but cleaning up from the previous one as well."
President Donald Trump declared an emergency in Puerto Rico several hours after Tuesday's quake hit, a move that frees up federal funds via the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency for things ranging from transportation to medical care to mobile generators. But some local officials worry the help won't arrive soon enough.
Trump's opposition to sending aid to Puerto Rico stalled a major nationwide disaster relief bill last year and led to disputes with Democrats. The island's governor at the time, Ricardo Rossello, described Trump as a "bully" and threatened to punch him in the mouth.
Rossello resigned in August after political pressure and sweeping protests.
Trump repeatedly said that he had done more for Puerto Rico than any other U.S. president and that his concerns about sending more money to the island were related to its history of corruption and mismanagement of funds.
In the months since, public feuding between Trump and Democrats on the issue has died down. Wanda Vazquez has served as Puerto Rico's governor since August.
But the federal government still has not released about $18 billion in Housing and Urban Development disaster relief funding allocated for various needs on the island, including restoration projects and repairs to the electrical grid. Puerto Rico was ravaged by back-to-back hurricanes in September 2017, with Hurricane Maria killing about 3,000 people and causing widespread devastation.
HUD officials and the White House Office of Management and Budget have defended the administration's response to Puerto Rico. Trump's emergency declaration will allow for $5 million to be spent on emergency services in response to the earthquake.
Larger amounts could follow if the island's governor requests a major disaster declaration.
"This administration has been working to support recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and will continue to do so. Over $90 billion has been forecast to be spent on Puerto Rico recovery relief, which is unprecedented," Office of Management and Budget spokesman Chase Jennings said. "Under President Trump, Puerto Rico has received more recovery funds than at any time in U.S. history. While we continue to ensure Puerto Rico has what they need, we must also make sure the proper guidelines are in place to make certain the people of Puerto Rico directly benefit, not politicians with their history of corruption."
The $90 billion figure -- which Trump has claimed has already been given to the island for hurricane response -- actually reflects an estimate of Puerto Rico's needs over about the next two decades.
Congress appropriated $19.9 billion through HUD's Community Development Block Grant disaster relief program for Puerto Rico's hurricane response needs. Of that amount, Puerto Rico to date has access to only $1.5 billion. Democrats have said that HUD missed a Sept. 4 deadline to issue an official notice on the availability of $8.3 billion more in remaining funds.
A group of Democrats, led by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., sent a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson on Tuesday pressing for the release of the additional money.
A senior HUD official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that of the $1.5 billion Puerto Rico has access to, it has so far spent only $5.8 million.
Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner of The Washington Post and by Danica Coto of The Associated Press.
A Section on 01/10/2020