09/04/18
Puerto Rican Del. Jenniffer González-Colón (R) said on Tuesday that the aftermath of Hurricane Maria resulted in increased awareness on the U.S. mainland about the island’s lack of representation.
“I think one of the issues that people on the mainland saw after the hurricane [was is that] that 3.4 million American citizens that live on the island do not have enough representation in Congress. We do not have senators,” González-Colón, an advocate for Puerto Rican statehood, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“I represent more American citizens than any other member of Congress, but I can’t vote on the floor,” she continued. “That’s an issue of civil rights.”
“People from Puerto Rico can move to Florida, can move to Texas, and they can vote. They can’t have a vote on the island,” she said.
“So yes, after the hurricane, a lot of people on the mainland got notice that we’ve been part of the U.S. since 1898, but we can’t vote for president.”
Puerto Rico is still recovering one year after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, resulting in widespread power outages and food shortages.
The federal government was criticized for its response to the storm and has faced backlash over its handling of the death toll from the hurricane.
The storm’s official death toll stood at 64 for months after the disaster. However, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced last week that he was updating the death count to 2,975 following a study.
— Julia Manchester
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