The White House is expected to announce billions of dollars of aid will be given to Puerto Rico.
The aid, $11.6 billion in total, which will be announced on Friday, comes exactly three years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, according to multiple reports. The money will go to rebuilding the U.S. territory’s power grid.
“Long before the hurricanes, Puerto Rico had a crumbling and dirty energy grid. After the storms utterly destroyed the grid, it created an opportunity to rebuild a cleaner, cheaper, and more resilient energy system but the Trump administration dithered and delayed and refused to deliver timely disaster aid for the people of Puerto Rico,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
“I will work with the Puerto Rican community to see that these long overdue and desperately needed funds are put to use in a wise way building the cleaner and more resilient energy grid the island deserves,” he added.
Nearly 3,000 people died because of the hurricane and its lasting effects on the island. Mass protests in Puerto Rico in the hurricane’s aftermath led to the resignation of former Gov. Ricardo Rossello in July 2019. There have been several instances where relief supplies have been misused or forgotten.
