The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 03:56 PM

Trump Temporarily Eases Law For Urgent Aid

President Trump waived a shipping law so emergency goods could get to Puerto Rico faster in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Trump has waived the 100-year-old law that prohibits foreign-flagged ships from moving goods between U.S. ports.

The move comes after the administration was criticized for a subpar response to the deepening humanitarian crisis on the island, home to 3.5 million Americans.

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will waive federal restrictions on foreign ships' transportation of cargo to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Thursday that President Donald Trump has "authorized the Jones Act be waived for Puerto Rico." She says Trump is responding to a request from the governor, and it will go into effect immediately.

The Jones Act is a nearly 100-year-old law that says only American-made ships with U.S. owners and crew may ship goods between U.S. ports.

Bipartisan members of Congress pressured Trump to waive the Jones Act, saying it could help get desperately needed supplies delivered to the island more quickly and at less cost.

Also on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that includes five tax relief provisions for victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the AP reports.

One provision allows money to be withdrawn without penalty from 401(k) or other retirement accounts for storm-related expenses. Another would remove limits on charitable tax deductions for people making donations for hurricane relief.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which only has until midnight Saturday to approve the measures.

The move comes after the administration was criticized for a subpar response to the deepening humanitarian crisis on the island, home to 3.5 million Americans.

In addition to lifting the Jones Act, the U.S. military will deploy a medical ship to Puerto Rico in the coming days as the island commonwealth continues to struggle in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Maria.

In a statement provided to CNN by the U.S. Navy, the USNS Comfort is "capable of providing resuscitation and stabilization care; initial wound and basic surgery; and postoperative treatment."

(MORE: How You Can Help the Victims in Puerto Rico)

With 59 of the island's 69 hospitals operational but with unknown status, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, medical assistance is a necessity. Upon arrival in Puerto Rico, the Comfort will add 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms, as well as much-needed medical technology that hasn't been operable in so many areas of the island since the storm knocked out power.

The ship, which is based out of Norfolk, Virginia, will need to be fully staffed before it can be deployed, and that might take a week, the defense department said Thursday. That means increasing the crew from 18 to as many as 60, and they'll look to put some 1,200 medical staffers aboard before the ship sails to Puerto Rico.

As of Wednesday, FEMA and other federal agencies have delivered upwards of 4.4 million meals and 6.5 million liters of water to Puerto Rico. Another 7 million meals and 4 million liters of water are on their way via barge delivery, ABC News reported.

FEMA has at least 10,000 federal staff on the ground in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but it was unclear how many had been sent to each territory. By all accounts, Puerto Rico's residents have suffered complete crop loss and devastation to the infrastructure, so they will need months of aid in every corner of the island.

The private sector is also pitching in. Royal Caribbean announced Tuesday that it would send the Adventure of the Seas, loaded up with supplies, to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. After the dropoff, the ship would be used to evacuate 3,000 people from the territories to Fort Lauderdale.

Trump Responds After Days After Criticism
Trump said he plans to visit Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico on Tuesday and may also travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands to meet with leaders and survey the damage left behind by the catastrophic storm, but the announcement came days after officials and citizens questioned if he cared about the U.S. territories at all.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruzhas praised FEMA's response to the disaster but also has questioned Trump's decision to tweet about the territory's debt and infrastructure problems.

"These are two different topics," Cruz told CNN. "You don't put debt above people, you put people above debt."

On Trump's preferred medium of communication to the American people, his Twitter account, he was noticeably quiet for days about the disaster unfolding in Puerto Rico. Despite dozens of tweets sent since last Wednesday night, Trump didn't post a single message about the response to Maria until Monday evening.

(MORE: The Latest on Hurricane Maria's Aftermath)

One day earlier, Trump pledged aid from the U.S. mainland as the storm hammered Puerto Rico. On Monday, FEMA Administrator Brock Long arrived in Puerto Rico and met with Gov. Ricardo Rossello.

Rossello told reporters he has spoken to Trump several times. Rossello said he's "confident the president understands the magnitude of the situation," according to the Associated Press.

While Trump initially was quiet, his opponent in the 2016 general election wasn't. Hillary Clinton said the Trump administration wasn't doing enough to help U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico, and a much larger response was needed.

And the five living former U.S. presidents – Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – announced Monday that their "One America Appeal," which was launched to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and later Hurricane Irma, will be expanded to also raise funds for those in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Hill reported.

This week, elected officials finally began to discuss ways to increase the response to Puerto Rico. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner sent multiple tweets calling for "the full resolve of the U.S. government," adding that rescue helicopters, field hospitals and Navy ships are needed to expand the response.

(MORE: Puerto Rico Radar Obliterated by Maria)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he would be traveling to San Juan on Thursday to help with recovery efforts, noting that his visit comes “at the request of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With so many natural disasters simultaneously plaguing the United States, the Navy had deployed ships to Florida and Texas to help with the recovery from hurricanes Irma and Harvey. When Maria followed and wiped out so much of Puerto Rico, the Navy could promise only three amphibious ships for response in the entire Caribbean, according to Washington Post military reporter Dan Lamothe.

House Speaker Paul Ryan also sent multiple tweets to reiterate that Congress is working on a larger plan.


Florida Sen. Bill Nelson joined Gardner in calling for increased aid.

"Am calling on U.S. military to send additional search & rescue, medical and construction teams to Puerto Rico in wake of Maria," he said in a tweet.

Nelson and fellow Florida Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Trump last Wednesday to request a larger response to the aftermath in the U.S. territories.