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Politics

Rick Scott Talks Hurricane Recovery in Florida, Puerto Rico with President Trump in DC

September 29, 2017 - 1:15pm
Rick Scott and Donald Trump
Rick Scott and Donald Trump

Gov. Rick Scott returned to the U.S. after visiting a devastated Puerto Rico earlier this week, saying cleaning up the damage to the small island left from Hurricane Maria is going to be a “long process.”

Scott visited Puerto Rico on Thursday, where he met with local government officials to talk about ways Florida could lend a helping hand to the country and its people, many of whom are without power. 

On Friday, Scott met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to discuss his visit to the small American territory which has been partially decimated due to Hurricane Maria.

Scott also talked about Florida's own hurricane recovery efforts, discussing repairs to the Herbert Hoover dike which surrounds Lake Okeechobee.

The governor made the pitch for the needy in Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria made landfall as a Category 4 storm last week, bringing heavy rains and strong winds which knocked out the entire power grid for 3.5 million people. 

Communicating with people in Puerto Rico has been difficult since Maria struck the island since she took cell towers with her, making phonecalls nearly impossible and only increasing the recovery time for the island.

“It’s going to be a long process,” said Scott of the ongoing recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

Earlier this week, Scott said Florida stood “willing and ready” to help the people of Puerto Rico in any way possible. Florida is the country’s closest American neighbor and, despite being hit by its own hurricane when Hurricane Irma made landfall in the U.S. earlier this month, Florida officials remained confident they would be able to help Puerto Rico move on from Maria.

“We know how important it is to share resources with our friends and neighbors during these times, and I was able to speak with Governor Rossello last week to tell him that Florida will provide whatever resources are needed to help families in Puerto Rico rebuild,” Scott said in a statement Tuesday. 

Puerto Rico will need all the help it can get -- Maria was the worst storm to strike the island  since 1928. 
 
The American territory was woefully unprepared for the havoc of Hurricane Maria which knocked out power for the entire island’s 3.5 million people and caused widespread damage from debris and rubble whipped up during the storm.
 
Puerto Rico had already been ravaged by Hurricane Irma, another massive storm which sped through the Caribbean island before making landfall in the Sunshine State earlier this month. 

Approximately 80,000 people were already without power by the time Maria and the country’s power company, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), has been riddled with financial difficulties, struggling with increasing debt which reached $9 billion before either Irma or Maria hit.
 
According to reports at the end of last week, it will take three to four months for power to be fully restored in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló said Monday that the island was on the brink of a "humanitarian crisis," and called for Congress to send aid immediately to help prevent further devastation.
 
Gov. Scott acknowledged it would be an uphill battle to help Puerto Rico recover from the storm. 

“They are going to need more [help,]” Scott said. “Florida is a welcoming state…we love people coming here, but I know [from talking to the governor of Puerto Rico’ their goal is to build their island.”

Gov. Scott isn’t the only Florida politician trying to lend a helping hand to Puerto Ricans in their time of crisis -- U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., visited the country on Monday to survey damage from the storm, bolstering his push for federal assistance as Puerto Rico attempts to recover from Maria. 
 
“[The goal should be] to rebuild Puerto Rico stronger than ever,” Rubio said at a bilingual press conference Monday afternoon. “These aren’t normal times. This is a crisis.”
 
Rubio teamed up with fellow Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to pen a letter to President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking the two men for federal assistance to help Puerto Rico get back on its feet following the storm.
 
“It is important that the federal government stands ready to assist in the difficult days after Hurricane Maria passes, when hope must be available to combat despair,” Rubio and Nelson wrote.
 
Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto also wrote a letter to President Trump this week, calling for more funds to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to help residents recover from the storm.
 
Several Florida congressmen -- including U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart, Stephanie Murphy and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, added their signatures to the letter as well.

 

 

Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.

 

 

 

 

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