Skip to main content

Velazquez on Trump Plan to Steal DOD Funds from Puerto Rico to Pay for Border Wall

September 4, 2019

Velázquez on Trump Plan to Steal DOD Funds from Puerto Rico to Pay for Border Wall

Washington, DC – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement opposing the Trump Administration's plan to take more than $402 million of Department of Defense money from Puerto Rico to help fund the building of a border wall with Mexico:

"It is tragically ironic that as we approach the two-year anniversary of Maria and our fellow citizens continue struggling to recover, the President of the United States is effectively pulling the rug out from under them to pay for an unpopular, hateful and ineffective border wall.

"Not only will the reprogramming of these funds make Puerto Rico less prepared in the event of disasters, but it would likely harm the local economy, by depriving on-island contractors of job-creating opportunities. It's shameful that the Administration has targeted Puerto Rico for the lion share of cuts, more than any other state or territory. The President intends to steal money from an already impoverished Island, to finance his coldhearted persecution of immigrants.

"Trump's wasteful wall will do nothing to address the root causes of migration to our southern border and will only worsen the humanitarian situation for hundreds of thousands of children and families. However, the repurposing of these funds will make Puerto Ricans less safe by reducing U.S. military readiness and diverting resources from Puerto Rico's National Guard. I will work with my Congressional colleagues to do everything in my power to stop this plan."