After the devastating aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, Puerto Rico’s financial crisis has worsen. It is estimated that the island’s gross national product (GNP) can take up to 12-13 years to reach its pre-recession level, CNBC reports.
Puerto Rico’s Treasury Secretary, Raul Maldonado says the situation can only grow more severe if congress doesn’t step in. “The hurricane just drained us,” Maldonado said. “The government can’t get revenue” because of the infrastructure damages.”
“If we don’t get the help we need, this will be a national disaster,” he continued. “We’re not looking for a handout; we’re just looking for some help to get back on our feet.”
Gov. Ricardo Rossello recently sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for $4.6 billion to help relief the problem.
“We are grateful for the federal emergency assistance that has been provided so far,” he wrote in the letter. “However, absent extraordinary measures to address the halt in the economic activity in Puerto Rico, the humanitarian crisis will deepen, and the unmet basic needs of the American citizens of Puerto Rico will become even greater.”
Letter sent to Majority and Minority leaders asking for more access to federal funding and programs for Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts. pic.twitter.com/qI32eR6Bym
— Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) October 9, 2017
As Puerto Rico drowns in debt, which originally was at 70 billion prior to the hurricane, President Trump is more concerned with how his less-than-adequate efforts in helping aid the island were received by the people and media.
During an interview with Gov. Mike Huckabee for The Trinity Broadcasting Network, Trump expressed his distaste for how his actions were received, according to Latina. After a video of POTUS went viral of him throwing paper towels at people on the island, he’s gotten a lot of backlash for it.
“We did a great job, and we weren’t treated fairly by the media, cause we really did a good job, one example, they had these beautiful, soft towels, very good towels. And I came in and there was a crowd of a lot of people,” he said.
“And they were screaming and they were loving everything. And we were—I was having fun, they were having fun,” he continued. “So next day they said, ‘Oh, it was so disrespectful to the people.’ It was just a made-up thing. And also when I walked in, the cheering was incredible.”
He also went on Twitter to further boast.
Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work! pic.twitter.com/k2jAkIpfjI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017