The slow-motion genocide waged by this Administration against the people of Puerto Rico is continuing:
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico's governor said Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department has cut a $4.7 billion disaster relief loan available to the U.S. territory by more than half, and he demanded help from Congress.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello said federal officials reduced the amount to $2 billion without providing an explanation nearly five months after Congress approved the loan. He warned the move puts Puerto Rico in a "dangerous financial dilemma" and that his administration could be forced to cut some essential services as the island continues to struggle after Hurricane Maria.
If you’re trying to imagine a situation where the U.S. government would, without any legitimate explanation, cut funds allotted for relief of any other Hurricane-ravaged American citizens by more than half, don’t strain yourself. The U.S. Treasury department would never consider gutting funds already approved by Congress for relief to Texas or Florida. Because people in Texas and Florida simply matter a lot more to Trump and Steven Mnuchin than the people of Puerto Rico, who apparently don’t matter at all:
In January, officials with the Treasury Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent Puerto Rico officials a letter stating they were temporarily withholding the loan because they did not believe the government was facing a cash shortage as it had previously warned. Federal officials said the money would be released via the Community Disaster Loan Program once the island's central cash balance decreased to a certain level.
The island was facing a debt crisis of $73 Billion when Hurricane Maria struck. Damage from the hurricane has been estimated at $93 Billion. Now even the paltry relief approved by Congress has been slashed. Treasury’s “explanation” for gutting these funds is particularly loathsome given the fact that this Administration just finished cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans:
The Treasury said late Tuesday that it discussed with federal officials and board members on Monday the terms and conditions under which the loans will be offered “to protect federal taxpayer investments while ensuring funding is available quickly when needed.”
Meanwhile, the real data on the island’s death toll is beginning to reveal itself:
The total number of deaths above average in September, October and November was 1,230, according to Alexis Santos, a demographer at Pennsylvania State University who obtained the data from the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and conducted an analysis that he released to the Los Angeles Times this week.
Deaths “above average” means deaths reasonably attributable to the after-effects of the Hurricane such as food, water and housing shortages, which have been aggravated tremendously by the malign neglect of this President and his Administration. The death toll remains difficult to measure as Puerto Ricans are still living in distress, with 15% of the population still without power and hundreds of families housed in hotels, as their homes were obliterated. Many of these deaths are due to the simple fact that the island is so poor and its people cannot access the type of health care necessary for the human body to cope with such deprivation. The Trump Administration is evidently bent on increasing the outsize number of Puerto Rican deaths any way it can:
Rossello said it seems the Treasury imposed certain loan restrictions to make it "extremely difficult for Puerto Rico to access these funds when it needs federal assistance the most." He also said Treasury officials told his administration last week that they do not intend to forgive the loan.
The behavior and attitude of this Administration towards these American citizens continues to be appalling. The only thing that makes it worse is that it is obviously based entirely on their race.