{"id":5084263,"date":"2020-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/blumenthal-our-nation-is-failing-the-people-of-puerto-rico\/"},"modified":"2020-02-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T05:00:00","slug":"blumenthal-our-nation-is-failing-the-people-of-puerto-rico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2020\/02\/24\/blumenthal-our-nation-is-failing-the-people-of-puerto-rico\/","title":{"rendered":"Blumenthal: \u2018Our Nation is Failing the People of Puerto Rico\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <em>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/angelicaserran0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ang\u00e9lica Serrano-Rom\u00e1n\u00a0<\/a><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This story was reported under a partnership with CT Latino News.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal had some criticism for the federal government this weekend after spending Friday and Saturday in Puerto Rico assessing the response to the earthquakes that have been shaking the island since late December.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the U.S. is failing. Our Nation is failing the people of Puerto Rico, who are our fellow Americans,\u201d Connecticut\u2019s senior senator said Saturday during a news conference following a meeting with Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda V\u00e1zquez. \u201cI\u2019m here to take back with me the images, faces, and voices of the people of Puerto Rico.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During his visit to the southwest region of the island most affected by the disaster, Blumenthal said he saw children coming back to school in tents and other temporary facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of those tents was at Cancha de Complejo Santa Mar\u00eda, a sports complex in the town of Guayanilla. Based on the possibility of more quakes, officials decided to be cautious and closed the Ar\u00edstides Cares Quir\u00f3s School. Instead, they set up tent-classrooms on the athletic fields until the earthquake activity settles down. In Guayanilla, 2,174 students from five elementary schools and one high school are studying under tents.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Tent classrooms in Guayanilla <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Gu\u00e1nica\u2019s Agripina Seda Middle School. At left is Juan L. Negr\u00f3n, Deputy Director, Puerto Rico\u2019s Federal Affairs Administration <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also stopped at Agripina Seda Middle School in Gu\u00e1nica, which served 434 students before the building collapsed in one of the quakes.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Healthcare services in the region are being provided under tents as well. \u201cThey [the clinics] have cracks, and they are still rebuilding,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supports Governor, But Federal Funding Is Needed <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday, Blumenthal\u2019s meeting with Gov. V\u00e1zquez lasted 50 minutes. Afterward, he said he was \u201cimpressed\u201d by the \u201cinspiring\u201d work she has done and said she has the \u201caccountability, integrity and trust necessary\u201d to continue and increase federal aid to Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNecesitamos hacer m\u00e1s por la gente de Puerto Rico (We have to do more for the people of Puerto Rico),\u201d the Democrat said in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was referring to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/recovery.pr\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">billions of dollars in disaster relief<\/a>&nbsp;that he says has been held up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and also by the Republican-controlled Senate, as the island\u2019s problems were compounded by earthquakes while it was still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria, which struck in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2022&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/recovery.pr\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FEMA transparency portal<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Feb. 10, Blumenthal, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and the rest of the state\u2019s Congressional delegation wrote to HUD Secretary Ben Carson to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blumenthal.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2020.2.10_Puerto%20Rico%20HUD%20letter%20delegation%20Gov.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demand that HUD stop delaying<\/a>&nbsp;the release of disaster mitigation and recovery money from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter cited HUD for \u201cunprecedented restrictions and delays\u201d in the release of $16.5 billion in hurricane relief funds for the island. Specifically, the letter said HUD failed to publish the required disaster mitigation funding notice for the island within 90 days of passage on June 6, 2019. They called it a \u201cdeliberate failure to fulfill\u201d a clear mandate from Congress. He said the notice wasn\u2019t&nbsp;published until Jan. 27&nbsp;\u2013 more than five months past the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The delay is based on Carson\u2019s decision to appoint a federal financial monitor to oversee the disbursement of the island\u2019s disaster funds, which he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/press\/press_releases_media_advisories\/HUD_No_19_115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced Aug. 2, 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carson then announced the disaster recovery grant agreement with Puerto Rico\u00a0on Jan. 16, 2020, \u201cmaking $8.2 billion available\u201d related to Hurricane Maria.<br \/><br \/>\u201cNow that proper financial controls are in place, implementing the second phase of Puerto Rico\u2019s disaster recovery program can move forward with an extension to its line of credit,\u201d Carson said. \u201cAdditional oversight was needed before we could proceed with confidence that these critical disaster recovery funds will reach those who need them the most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Blumenthal tours a damaged building in Gu\u00e1nica. At left is Juan L. Negr\u00f3n, Deputy Director, Puerto Rico\u2019s Federal Affairs Administration <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Blumenthal meets with officials in Guaynabo <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Puerto Ricans are frustrated by the slow pace of the actual disbursement of the funds beyond what is said to be \u201cmade available\u201d in press releases. Blumenthal and other Connecticut leaders say the additional restrictions are unnecessary and are making it difficult for the island to recover.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRight now there are delays and blockages. Only a fraction of federal funds that Congress has allocated through HUD has actually been available,\u201d Blumenthal said in the press conference, referencing the hurricane relief funds. \u201cTrump\u2019s administration, unfortunately, is doing less. I\u2019ll come back to talk with my colleagues to urge that more funds are released.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aside from the hurricane relief funds, Congress also took action to help Puerto Rico respond to the earthquakes. The House passed an Emergency Supplemental Appropriation on Feb. 7 to provide&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctnewsjunkie.com\/archives\/story\/20200212_house_sends_puerto_rico_earthquake_relief_bill_to_senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$4.67 billion for educational needs, infrastructure repairs, and community development activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blumenthal warned that the bill still needs the approval of the Republican-controlled Senate and President Donald Trump\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cColleague Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), stop blocking these bills,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cThe aid is necessary for Puerto Rico. The Supplemental is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frustration <\/h4>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many Puerto Ricans on the island feel that their government is not doing enough. There are still hundreds of refugees almost two months after the strongest earthquake of the \u201cswarm\u201d shocked the island. However, the Democrat argued that being the Mayor or Governor \u201cis a very hard job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> A badly damaged church in Guayanilla <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Blumenthal hears from residents of Gu\u00e1nica <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he can only talk about the federal sphere, and work to make sure local officials have resources to assist the island.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I understand people\u2019s impatience,\u201d Blumenthal said.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blumenthal Speaks to Reporters Following Tour of Puerto Rico Quake Damage, Meeting With Governor\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MhgTE7o4JXE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though the senator said that he\u2019s proud of the Puerto Rican community in Connecticut, because they are \u201ca source of talent, culture, energy, new businesses, as well as workers,\u201d Blumenthal mentioned that he wanted \u201cto encourage people to come to Connecticut, but at the same time to return to Puerto Rico.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe should be opening our arms, but, at the same time, we want the students, doctors, engineers, business people and lawyers \u2013 the talent \u2013 to stay here. Puerto Rico needs that talent. We don\u2019t want to encourage a \u2018brain drain\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that his administration has identified $75,000 in state funding to provide housing support for residents of the island who have relocated to Connecticut, following the recent earthquakes.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blumenthal said that Connecticut had set up a special bilingual learning program after Hurricane Maria in order to help students who had moved north after being displaced by the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also visited the Costa Sur Power Plant in Guayanilla, which is supposed to provide a quarter of Puerto Rico\u2019s electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to approach the energy and power issue in a long-term investment,\u201d Blumenthal said, adding, \u201cCosta Sur may not open again, and if it does, nobody knows when.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Changes at Costa Sur <\/h4>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> Costa Sur Power Plant in Guayanilla <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"> The Costa Sur Power Plant is supposed to provide a quarter of Puerto Rico\u2019s electricity. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Uncertainty about the plant\u2019s future was compounded when its manager, Ram\u00f3n Aguilar Mart\u00ednez, was removed on Feb. 16 by Jos\u00e9 Ortiz, executive director of Puerto Rico\u2019s Electric Power Authority (PREPA).<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aguilar Mart\u00ednez was allegedly demoted \u2013 to his previous job as an engineer at the Central de Palo Seco power plant in Toa Baja \u2013 following a disagreement. He contradicted Ortiz about the extent of the generator\u2019s damage at Costa Sur.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnny Rodr\u00edguez Ortiz, head of the Association of Retirees of the Electric Power Authority,&nbsp;criticized PREPA\u2019s executive director for allegedly dismissing and punishing&nbsp;Aguilar Mart\u00ednez.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The association stated that Costa Sur plant \u201cremains viciously closed\u201d by Ortiz under the allegation that \u201cit\u2019s not repairable until fully inspected,\u201d and that it will be out of operation for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Connecticut has the sixth largest population of Puerto Ricans in the United States at more than 300,000 residents. According to the Center for Puerto Rican Studies,\u00a0Puerto Ricans accounted for 8.3% of the total population in Connecticut in 2016, and 53% of the state\u2019s Hispanic or Latino population.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher\u2019s Note:<\/em>\u00a0<em>While the news cycle in the United States has been dominated by coverage from Washington, Puerto Rico has been struggling through multiple natural disasters, political turmoil, and ongoing protests. With over 300,000 Puerto Rican residents in Connecticut,\u00a0<strong>CTNewsJunkie<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>CTLatinoNews<\/strong>\u00a0are collaborating to help our readers understand the severity of the crisis on the island, and how it is impacting both the commonwealth and our state.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Ang\u00e9lica Serrano-Rom\u00e1n\u00a0 This story was reported under a partnership with CT Latino News. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal had some criticism [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[582,576],"tags":[1650],"ppma_author":[565],"class_list":["post-5084263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ct-news-junkie","category-democracypolitics","tag-blumenthalpuerto-rico-and-hurricane-mariapuerto-rico-earthquakes"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jermaine Smith","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/author\/jay\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By\u00a0Ang\u00e9lica Serrano-Rom\u00e1n\u00a0 This story was reported under a partnership with CT Latino News. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal had some criticism [&hellip;]","authors":[{"term_id":565,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"news-editor","display_name":"News Editor","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"mfb_rest_fields":["title","uagb_featured_image_src","uagb_author_info","uagb_comment_info","uagb_excerpt","authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5084263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5084263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5084263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5084263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5084263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5084263"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5084263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}