Lawmakers call on Trump administration to address Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to COVID-19

Democratic lawmakers are calling on Vice President Pence, who leads the administration’s coronavirus task force, to provide information on how the administration plans to address unique obstacles Puerto Rico faces throughout the pandemic. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said in a letter to Pence that the administration was slow to provide the U.S. territory adequate aid after hurricanes Irma and Maria. 

“As the COVID-19 pandemic hits Puerto Rico, these economic and public health risks will grow and risk exacerbating the crisis,” the lawmakers said, adding, “the Trump administration’s actions to delay and impede the island’s economic and health care disaster recovery will result in further grave harm to the island’s residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Puerto Rico is due to receive more than $3 billion appropriated by Congress as coronavirus relief, which is much more than other U.S. territories, but significantly less than states of similar populations. The lawmakers are asking for details on how the administration plans to allocate those funds.

The Democrats note that the island of over 3.2 million U.S. citizens has seen multiple natural disasters over the past two years that have severely damaged its infrastructure. According the Bureau of Health Workforce, more than 1.7 million Puerto Ricans live in officially designated Health Professional Shortage Areas.

“We are deeply concerned about Puerto Rico’s health care workforce and its readiness to respond to future growth of the outbreak on the island,” the lawmakers wrote.