Cabinet secretaries Nielsen and Carson check in on Puerto Rico recovery efforts
Nearly three months after Hurricane Maria first made landfall in Puerto Rico, thousands of homes are still getting by on makeshift power, and the blue tarps covering damaged rooftops mark the continuing difficulties for the island's three million American citizens.
As Puerto Rican relief efforts make the transition from response to recovery, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and HUD Secretary Ben Carson completed their joint day trip Tuesday to San Juan, intended to weigh Puerto Rico's needs. "The president asked me early on in my nomination process to make sure that I came down here as soon as possible," Nielsen said, addressing FEMA and interagency personnel at their new headquarters, surrounded by hurricane victims who have been recruited as local hires.
Back in Washington, lawmakers 1,500 miles away contemplate the largest natural disaster package in history – an $81 billion package introduced by Republican leaders to fund hurricane and wildfire recovery in places such as California, Texas and Florida. The competition for aid is not lost on Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello who urged Congress to "be cognizant that Puerto Rico does not have representation," during a news conference at his residence, on Tuesday. "There needs to be some language that specifies how resources go to Puerto Rico," Rossello added, flanked by Secretaries Nielsen and Carson.
Acting FEMA Deputy Administrator Daniel Kanieweski said he had not seen the precise details of the House supplemental bill, but felt comfortable with the $44 billion sought by the White House. "We certainly will need more money for this recovery. Everybody knows that." He added, "We don't need it tomorrow. We need it soon."
Before Hurricane Maria hit, the island territory was already saddled with $72 billion in debt. Since then, Rossello has requested over $94 billion from the U.S. government to rebuild the power grid and restore housing, among other demands.
The GOP tax plan that's expected to become law soon is a sore point for Rossello. He predicts that nearly a half of the island's economy will suffer as a result of the new legislation, which cuts corporate and individual taxes but could damage his island's economic interests.
"Puerto Rico was completely sidestepped in that process," he remarked candidly. "Completely." Rossello pointed to one provision in particular that could. Under current law, some U.S. companies slide profits to foreign countries to avoid U.S. taxes. This is known as "base erosion," and the new tax plan aims to stop it with a new alternative minimum tax. But this will slam Puerto Rico because even though it is a U.S. territory, in the eyes of the IRS, it's labeled a foreign jurisdiction -- even though its three million residents are American citizens.
"There is an opportunity to set things straight, to give Puerto Rico an opportunity, and to eliminate this just weird application of the base-erosion provision to a jurisdiction of the United States," Rossello added.
The plea came one day after the governor ordered an official review of the hurricane death toll. Declared by the local government to be 64 individuals, independent media investigations offered numbers of lives lost in the triple digits or greater. In response, Secretary Nielsen called the determination of disaster victims a "local responsibility," but noted that DHS would "support the governor in efforts to ensure transparency."
Administration officials were called out by media Tuesday for remaining in San Juan throughout their visit, thus insulating them from seeing much of the hurricane damage across the island. HUD Secretary Carson responded, "I don't think you could ever see everything you need to see," suggesting instead that he had seen many pictures and videos. Both secretaries also met with a handful of Puerto Rico's local officials including San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has been openly critical of the White House response to the needs of Puerto Ricans and a recurring subject of President Trump's tweets.
During her "boots on the ground" tour, Secretary Nielsen was quick to present Hurricane Maria as a learning opportunity. Yet FEMA officials are quick to push back on the notion that the agency was unprepared. "We were tapped out by the time the hurricane was complete in Puerto Rico," one senior level FEMA official told CBS News, referencing the agency's unprecedented decision to rely on DHS and interagency partners on the ground before the response phase. "But those that say we were completely unprepared," he added, "That's false."
According to the Puerto Rican government, nearly 70 percent of Puerto Rico's power grid – as measured by its peak use – is operational. Although Governor Rossello had previously stated all of the island's lights would be back on by Christmas, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now projects that it'll be February before 95 percent of power is returned, with 100 percent restoration by May.
The strategy for reinstating Puerto Rico's power grid has shifted from addressing critical needs around hospitals and schools, to a more methodical plan of restoring electricity "neighborhood by neighborhood," with 3,600 linemen busy at work, a senior Energy Department official told CBS News. The official admitted power generation on the island proved "kind of a mixed bag" that "still on a good day had some brown-outs" prior to this season's hurricanes.
As Puerto Ricans attempt to return to normalcy, some critical questions remain about the U.S. government's ability to assist in remote areas, such as islands. "Are we fully prepared as a nation to respond there? That's an open question," one senior official at FEMA conceded. While action reviews and comprehensive reports have not yet been released, recovery efforts march on. "I will say," the official added, "we're not waiting on that report."