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Velazquez on President’s Puerto Rico Remarks

March 27, 2019

Velázquez on President’s Puerto Rico Remarks

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement today regarding the President's remarks to Senators on Puerto Rico:

"The President's remarks as reported in the media have at long last laid bare the central reason for his Administration's callous response to Maria's devastation in Puerto Rico -- namely that he does not value the lives of millions of American citizens who reside there. For the President to vocally oppose and target aid to the most vulnerable in Puerto Rico is shameful, heartless and inexcusable.

"Regardless of what the President says, all Members of Congress – Republicans and Democrats, Senators and House Members alike – have a responsibility to acknowledge and address that there is an ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico, harming millions of our fellow citizens. Congress must immediately appropriate additional funding for the Island's Nutrition Assistance Program and pass the other recovery assistance previously approved by the House of Representatives. Where the President is exhibiting a failure of moral leadership, Members of Congress must step forward and do what is right.

"Lastly, Puerto Rico has long faced an inequity with regards to nutritional assistance. To that end, I have authored legislation that would permanently transition Puerto Rico back onto the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, so that its citizens receive the same food aid as other Americans who reside on the mainland. In coming months, I will be working with my colleagues to move this bill toward enactment."

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Issues:Puerto Rico