• Subscriptions
    • Log in
    Ad-Free Login - Go Ad-Free & Join The Movement
    The fight for our future is not over. Help Raw Story hold those in power accountable for just $1.
    The fight for our future is not over. Help Raw Story hold those in power accountable for just $1. Click to enable push notifications.
    Listen Now: The New Raw Story PodcastUS NEWStrumpvideoget the newsletter
    AD-FREE LOGIN
    • Home
    • New: Shop to Support Independent Journalism
    • We Have Issues
    • Trump
    • U.S. News
    • Video
    • Ad-Free Login
    Tired of ads? Want to support our progressive journalism? Click to learn more.LEARN MORE

    Team Trump admits holding back billions for Puerto Rico disaster recovery

    Mc Nelly Torres, DCReport @ RawStory
    October 23, 2019

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels to survivors of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (Screen capture)

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    Mc Nelly Torres, DCReport @ RawStory

    Trump administration officials have admitted that last summer they knowingly withheld billions of dollars Congress appropriated to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.  House Democrats say withholding the relief money violates the law.


    Federal law requires that our government help Americans hit by natural disasters. But two Housing and Urban Development officials acknowledged at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Oct. 17 that HUD blocked the Puerto Rico relief funds.

    The HUD delay meant the island missed a deadline to apply for billions of dollars in disaster relief funds, raising doubts about when, if ever, the money will flow to the island devasted in September 2017 by the Category 5 hurricane.

    The federal money is part of a $19 billion supplemental disaster relief bill that Congress passed in June. It came with stipulations requiring HUD to provide funding notices to nine states and two American territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    HUD intentionally left Puerto Rico out of the notices, the HUD officials admitted.

    The agency published the required guidance in the federal register for 9 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Aug. 30, 2019.  But HUD intentionally left Puerto Rico out of the notices, the HUD officials admitted.

    Without the required guidance, the island territory could not apply for the disaster money appropriated by Congress. The guidance required the nine states and the U.S. Virgin Islands to submit detailed plans on how each jurisdiction would spend HUD Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program funds.

    Puerto Rico is supposed to be the largest recipient of these funds, with $8.3 billion for large mitigation projects to prepare for future storms and prevent a repeat of the catastrophic devastation from Hurricane Maria.

    In a Sept. 5 letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Representative David Price, a North Carolina Democrat who chairs the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee and Representative Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat chairs the Appropriations Committee, expressed concerns about delaying the funds.

    "Special Urgency"

    “If anything, Puerto Rico should [receive] a special urgency,” Price said.  “The delay is not acceptable and it’s certainly not acceptable to single-out Puerto Rico. The president’s rhetoric on this raises a lot of questions about what’s going on here and where this directive is coming from.”

    Even the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami area Republican, criticized HUD’s holding back funds in “this critically important program.”

    Cautiously, Diaz-Balart said “I’m troubled… and of course, have a special concern” when requirements in Congressional appropriations are not met because it may mean even greater taxpayer costs in the future.

    At the hearing, Irv Dennis, HUD’s chief financial officer, and David Woll, deputy assistant secretary for community planning and development, defended the action.

    They cited talking points that HUD Secretary Carson, Trump and others have used in asserting that funds were withheld because of “concerns about misuse of funds,” “alleged corruption, fiscal irregularities and Puerto Rico’s capacity to manage the funds” especially after the governor resigned amid protests and a corruption scandal.

    Woll claimed that millions of federal relief dollars had already been wasted and didn’t reach the people of Puerto Rico. He also asserted that officials were concerned after the mass protests that eventually led to the Aug. 2 resignation of Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló.

    Woll also noted that HUD is not a first-line disaster relief agency, as if that were relevant.

    False Choice

    Chairman Price wasn’t buying.

    “I think you are posing a false choice and … with respect of obeying the law, it shouldn’t be a difficult job, should it?” Price asked during the committee’s hearing Thursday.

    Incredulous at the HUD conduct, Price said, “You had the option of ignoring the law because of alleged troubles in Puerto Rico… that justifies you breaking the law?”

    Trump has a contentious, even contemptuous, relationship with Puerto Rico, often lashing out at local lawmakers on Twitter. He famously tossed rolls of paper towels to people suffering without electricity and drinkable water after Maria passed.

    The slow response from the federal government that has been blamed for the death of thousands of people, somethingRosselló also denied for months. Trump has refused to accept that 2,975 people died. He also has denied that the federal government relief response was slow.

    Instead, Trump has attacked his critics on Twitter noting that he has “taken better care of Puerto Rico than any man ever.”

    Trump claims that the island has received $90 billion in Hurricane Maria disaster relief. That’s false. Puerto Rico has only received $14 billion in funds from the $42.8 billion Congress allocated.

    Holding back more than $28 billion in relief money isn't all Team Trump is doing to hurt the islands more than 3 million residents. Trump is trying to divert $155 million from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help build his border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, an issue expected to be explored in a future Congressional hearing.

    Today a least 30,000 Puerto Rico homes are without a roof two years after the hurricane brought flooding, destroyed the electrical grid and deprived thousands of drinking water and shelter. Many homes now rely on blue tarps stretched overhead to keep rain from falling into their homes.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    Enjoy good journalism?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

    We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

    Value Raw Story?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.


    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
    READ COMMENTS - JOIN THE DISCUSSION

    Survey: Will Melania leave Trump now that he's out of office ?

    Discord bans subreddit accused of manipulating GameStop stock price to ruin hedge funds: report

    Matthew Chapman
    January 27, 2021

    On Wednesday, The Verge reported that the networking platform Discord has banned the server for r/WallStreetBets, the community on Reddit that has bragged about manipulating the stock market.

    r/WallStreetBets gained national attention this week after a campaign to aggressively buy up shares in GameStop, the nationwide video game retailer, after learning that several large Wall Street hedge funds were short-selling the stock due to the chain's financial struggles. The campaign dramatically drove up the price of GameStop shares, wiping out millions of dollars in value at these hedge funds at a stroke.

    According to Discord, the ban has nothing to do with the efforts to hurt hedge funds, but rather ongoing violations of hate speech policies.

    "The server has been on our Trust & Safety team's radar for some time due to occasional content that violates our Community Guidelines, including hate speech, glorifying violence, and spreading misinformation. Over the past few months, we have issued multiple warnings to the server admin," said Discord in a statement. "To be clear, we did not ban this server due to financial fraud related to GameStop or other stocks. Discord welcomes a broad variety of personal finance discussions, from investment clubs and day traders to college students and professional financial advisors."

    Bernie Sanders, with mittens pic, raises $1.8 million for charity

    Agence France-Presse
    January 27, 2021

    The Inauguration Day photograph of a mitten-clad, glamor-defying Bernie Sanders perhaps was not the most flattering image of the US senator, but it has become a remarkably charitable one.

    The 79-year-old lawmaker from the northeastern state of Vermont announced Wednesday he has raised $1.8 million for charity over the past five days through sales of merchandise featuring him wearing knit mittens and a parka at President Joe Biden's January 20 swearing-in.

    The image launched a thousand memes and made the earnest and seemingly cantankerous two-time presidential candidate even more of an internet star than he already was.

    "Jane and I were amazed by all the creativity shown by so many people over the last week, and we're glad we can use my internet fame to help Vermonters in need," Sanders said in a statement.

    "But even this amount of money is no substitute for action by Congress," he said, referring to efforts to pass a massive coronavirus pandemic rescue package.

    "I will be doing everything I can in Washington to make sure working people in Vermont and across the country get the relief they need in the middle of the worst crisis we've faced since the Great Depression."

    Sanders's office said the groups receiving charitable funds include the Vermont operations of Meals on Wheels and the Vermont Parent Child Network.

    The initial run of the "Chairman Sanders" merchandise sold out 30 minutes after the items -- including sweatshirts and T-shirts -- were made available online Thursday. There is now a weeks-long backlog of orders.

    The image of a cross-legged Sanders wearing a light blue mask and seated alone at the inauguration was captured by AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski.

    According to Sanders' office, as part of the licensing agreement to put the image on apparel and stickers, Getty Images, the agency that distributes AFP images in the United States, will donate its proceeds from the license to Meals on Wheels America.

    Smialowski has been impressed by the various iterations of his frame online.

    "The internet is like a wild animal, tough to predict and hard to tame," he said.

    "While I never expect or strive for my work to go viral or get memed, it doesn't surprise me in the sense that the internet and social media are unpredictable. Anything is possible."

    Feds indict three Oath Keepers on 'conspiracy to obstruct Congress': report

    Matthew Chapman
    January 27, 2021

    On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the indictment of three militia figures affiliated with the far-right Oath Keepers group, on charges of conspiracy to obstruct Congress.

    The three defendants are Jessica Marie Watkins and Donovan Ray Crowl of Champaign County, Ohio, and Thomas Caldwell of Clarke County, Virginia. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

    "According to the indictment, the three defendants initiated their communications and coordination in November 2020 and continued through on or about Jan. 19, 2021, when Caldwell was arrested," said the DOJ announcement. "The exchanges vary in topics from a call to action to logistics, including lodging options, coordinating calls to discuss the plan, and joining forces with other Oath Keeper chapters. On Dec. 31, 2020, Caldwell posted, 'THIS IS OUR CALL TO ACTION, FREINDS! SEE YOU ON THE 6TH IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ALONG WITH 2 MILLION OTHER LIKE-MINDED PATRIOTS.' In a subsequent post on Jan. 2, 2021, Caldwell stated, 'It begins for real Jan 5 and 6 on Washington D.C. when we mobilize in the streets. Let them try to certify some crud on capitol hill with a million or more patriots in the streets. This kettle is set to boil…'"

    Allegations about Crowl released by federal officials last week following his arrest suggested he was preparing for "literal war."

    The Oath Keepers are a nationwide paramilitary organization, including many retired and active military and law enforcement, which has broadly been implicated in the assault on the Capitol that left five dead.

     
    Trending
    Latest
    Videos

    Paul Krugman's predictions about the Republican party are coming true

    Trump told Kevin McCarthy that he bore some of the blame for the Capitol riot: Fox News

    Expert has a brilliant strategy for Democrats to protect their agenda from the Supreme Court

    Neighbors stunned after ‘old guy next door’ turns out to be Trump rioter who brought Molotov cocktails to DC

    Counterintelligence expert thinks Trump's Homeland Security suppressed bulletin on domestic terrorism threats

    The nearly all white GOP Senate says it will filibuster Biden Homeland Security pick Alejandro Mayorkas

    Mike Pence is 'homeless' and bouncing between couches of Indiana politicians: report

    'Mike Pence is in fear for his life because of Donald Trump': Morning Joe

    Trump’s impeachment is unlikely to result in a conviction. But it may increase his chances of being criminally prosecuted

    Discord bans subreddit accused of manipulating GameStop stock price to ruin hedge funds: report

    Bernie Sanders, with mittens pic, raises $1.8 million for charity

    Feds indict three Oath Keepers on 'conspiracy to obstruct Congress': report

    Voters are leaving the divided Republican Party in droves after the Capitol insurrection

    Prepare for the next pandemic like a 'war,' says Bill Gates

    Nicolle Wallace unleashes on Republicans for supporting domestic terrorism and refusing to protect America

    'Radioactive' Trump properties plummet in price as New Yorkers reject his brand: report

    Fed's Jerome Powell warns economic outlook still 'highly uncertain'

    Gabby Giffords slams Marjorie Taylor Greene over viral video of her harassing Parkland survivor David Hogg

    QAnon congresswoman faces growing outrage as new video exposes her harassment of a Parkland survivor

    WATCH: Woman says she has to dress 'like a Muslim' to avoid wearing a mask in bizarre city council rant

    New White House sign language interpreter linked to the far right – and appeared in video attacking Biden

    Former White House chief of staff waves off Capitol riot with ridiculous argument

    Dem caller scolds C-SPAN for 'blowing smoke in people's eyes' with hourlong show on 'cancel culture'

    ‘Truly horrid’ video emerges of ‘seditionist’ Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing Parkland teen

    Viral video renews interest in report Trump sons held pre-Capitol coup meeting to ‘pressure’ lawmakers

    Former Bush AG: I 'worry' people like me would be unelectable in the modern GOP

    John Roberts refused to preside over Trump's second impeachment trial: Schumer

     
     

    Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.

    Manage Preferences

    Close
    Copy link