House Speaker Paul Ryan pledged long term support for Puerto Rico at a Friday press conference held after a bipartisan delegation of House lawmakers toured the devastated island.
“We do believe there is a very important and proper role at all levels of government to respond to this now and over the long haul,” said Ryan, R-Wis.
The island was significantly damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria and remains mostly without power, running water or communications.
On Thursday, the House passed a $36.5 billion disaster relief package to bolster the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The package included a $4.9 billion loan keep the Puerto Rico government operating.
Lawmakers ventured to central areas of the island, where towns remain unreachable thanks to washed out roads.
Rep. Jennifer González, Puerto Rico’s non-voting Republican delegate, said lawmakers also toured the island by air. She now expects Congress to provide additional major federal aid. Ryan pledged more money will be approved by Congress soon, but said the administration would determine an amount to request.
“They saw the level of devastation,” González said. “They had to see it for themselves. This is quite possibly the biggest disaster they have ever seen. These are not minor words. We do not expect minor actions.”
Ryan was asked whether Congress would foot the bill for rebuilding and modernizing the island’s infrastructure and power grid, which was already falling apart before the hurricanes, thanks to years of local government mismanagement.
“It makes no sense to put up temporary patches,” Ryan said.
Ryan said the federal government’s immediate goal is to alleviate the humanitarian crisis on the island. The next phase of financing will cover a long term recovery.
“We are all in this with each other for the long haul to make sure this island survives,” Ryan said.
Puerto Rico is under the operation of a control board and is in the process of restructuring the island’s massive $72 billion debt. High unemployment has caused younger residents to move to the states.
González, in a floor speech Thursday, predicted the hurricane destruction will cause a “mass exodus” of Puerto Rico’s population.
