Washington’s Disaster Cynicism Puerto Rico is already getting $40 billion in relief.
Few spectacles in Washington are as cynical as disaster relief, but the current debate is even worse than usual. Democrats are portraying Puerto Rico as a victim of Republican bigotry, though the island has received billions since Hurricane Maria in 2017.
For months Congress has haggled over relief money for California fires, Midwest floods, Gulf Coast hurricanes and more. These bills are typically bipartisan feeding frenzies, with no disaster too small to waste. Last week more than 30 Republicans in the House joined Democrats to pass a $19 billion bill. No one has any idea how most of this will be spent, and plenty will be wasted as such aid often is.
The main hang up has been money for Puerto Rico, and Democrats claim that GOP offers are insufficiently generous. Democrats think they can paint President Trump and Republicans as heartless and anti-Hispanic to boot.
But more than $40 billion has been allocated to Puerto Rico, particularly through Federal Emergency Management Agency and Housing and Urban Development accounts, which over time is obligated in contracts and then spent. The White House noted in April that roughly $19 billion of the more than $40 billion has been obligated so far across 14 government agencies, $8 billion of which is unspent.
The Administration is right to be skeptical of new funds when so much remains to be spent. Republicans have agreed to $600 million more in food assistance for Puerto Rico, but Democrats want to use disaster relief as a political whip more than they want a disaster bill.
As the standoff continues, genuine spending priorities suffer. The Air Force has run out of money to rebuild Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where Hurricane Michael damaged about 700 buildings in 2018. Some personnel have been living in tents. The Air Force has suspended new repairs in the absence of a cash infusion from Congress. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said last month she’d soon have to delay aircraft maintenance, which would ground five bombers and create an upkeep backlog on certain radar planes. The Marines also need money to rebuild after hurricane damage at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Mr. Trump isn’t helping by siphoning off military construction funds to finance his wall at the Mexico-U.S. border. GOP Senator Richard Shelby, head of the Appropriations Committee, is also demanding more money for Alabama from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The only guarantee before this disaster is over is that Congress will spend more than is necessary, and taxpayers will need relief.
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