White House Hurricane Relief Proposal is Inadequate

WASHINGTON  – The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposal for $44 billion in additional aid for hurricane relief falls well short of what Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands need.

The following is a statement by Adrianna Quintero, director of Voces Verdes and partner engagement at the Natural Resources Defense Council:  

“This request is simply insufficient and will do little to alleviate the struggles from American citizens in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas, and Florida where recovery and reconstruction efforts are dependent on this funding.

"Additional relief should be made available – as soon as possible.”

The following is a statement by Scott Slesinger, legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council:  

“Congress needs to ensure that Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands get the assistance they desperately need to restore basic services like electricity, water, and housing. Parts of those regions have now been without these critical services since early September, when Hurricane Irma made landfall, and we must bring more of the nation’s resources to bear to address an evolving humanitarian crisis.

“Congress should oppose Trump’s proposal to cut domestic programs for environment, education, housing and transportation to pay for this disaster.”

# # #

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​