Biden Pledges Extra $60 Million to Help Puerto Rico ‘Rebuild It All’

President Joe Biden visited Puerto Rico on Monday to survey the injury brought on by Hurricane Fiona final month. During a speech within the metropolis of Ponce, Biden promised an extra $60 million in funding to assist the island “rebuild it all,” on high of billions of {dollars} already put aside for the island’s restoration from hurricanes Irma and Maria.

“Rebuild it in a resilient way so you don’t—when the storms come again, which they will, they’re not having the damage they caused before,” he stated. “Puerto Rico is a strong place, and Puerto Ricans are strong people. But even so, you have had to bear so much and more than need be, and you haven’t gotten the help in a timely way.”

In his speech, Biden also announced the Puerto Rican Grid Recovery and Modernization staff, to be led by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. The staff is not going to solely work on repairing the island’s defective grid as quickly as doable but additionally spur the transition to renewable power. Currently solely 3% of the island’s energy comes from renewable sources. The relaxation is from petroleum, pure fuel, and the island’s single coal-fired energy plant, in response to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Biden promised $60 million to assist with the mandatory reconstruction. The funding is coming from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law to assist strengthen flood partitions and enhance warning methods for future storms that may have an effect on the island. Biden additionally stated that Puerto Rico was lastly going to see “every single dollar promised” after Hurricane Maria, together with the brand new funding he introduced this week.

There was $2 billion pledged to Puerto Rico from FEMA again in 2018. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development additionally accredited $20 billion for the island’s restoration after Hurricane Maria, but the Trump administration stalled the aid, citing political corruption in Puerto Rico. The earlier administration additionally put restrictions on that funding, saying that the island had to submit funds plans to the mandated fiscal management board. But in 2021, the Biden administration began to take away these restrictions, releasing up billions for infrastructural enchancment, The Hill reported. This included unlocking entry to greater than $8 billion in funding that was additionally promised to Puerto Rico in 2018 to assist future resilience.

Hurricane Fiona precipitated important injury to Puerto Rico’s infrastructure when it hit the island final month. Homes, autos, and roads have been washed away by the torrential rains and widespread flooding. Officials have estimated that Fiona precipitated about $3 billion in damages, however that quantity might change over time, the Associated Press reported. The storm knocked out energy for the whole island the weekend it made landfall in Puerto Rico, and greater than 100,000 clients on the island are nonetheless with out energy immediately, in response to PowerOutage.us. Many communities are nonetheless experiencing water outages or low water strain of their properties.

The injury from Fiona has been amplified by the truth that Puerto Rico has by no means absolutely recovered from Hurricane Maria. That storm precipitated the longest blackout in U.S. historical past and the second longest on the planet. A mixture of weak power infrastructure and excessive charges of poverty all through the island made Puerto Rico particularly susceptible to the storm. During his remarks, Biden acknowledged that Puerto Rico was not adequately helped within the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and promised to proceed supporting the island’s individuals and native authorities for higher local weather resilience.

Biden’s journey had a barely totally different tone than the one former President Trump took throughout his go to after Hurricane Maria. He infamously threw paper towel rolls to a crowd of individuals in want of support and advised individuals who had waited in line to obtain meals to “have a good time.”