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President Biden traveled Monday to Puerto Rico to survey hurricane damage, meet with families and announce $60 million in emergency aid to prepare the island for future storms.
Mr. Biden’s trip comes two weeks after Hurricane Fiona ravaged the island. As of Monday, 100,000 people are still without power because of storm damage.
After receiving a briefing from civil leaders about Fiona’s aftermath, Mr. Biden announced a new round of funding for the island.
The aid will be used to shore up levees, strengthen flood walls and create new flood warning systems to prepare Puerto Ricans for future threats. It will come from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that Congress approved last year.
“So many people have been displaced from their homes, lost their jobs and savings, or suffered injuries, often unseen, but many times unseen. Yet somehow the people of Puerto Rico keep getting back up with resilience and determination. You deserve every bit of help your country can give you and that’s what I’m determined to do,” Mr. Biden said in remarks from Ponce, Puerto Rico.
That money is in addition to the $1.3 billion released by the Biden administration in February 2021 to help protect Puerto Rico against severe storms.
SEE ALSO: Touring hurricane damage, Biden claims he was ‘raised’ by Delaware’s Puerto Rican community
The administration’s aid package has raised concerns that the money may not get to those who desperately need it, given the island’s history of corruption.
