hurricane maria aftermath
Bernie Sanders debuts 'Marshall Plan' for Puerto Rico
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday will reveal his $146 billion plan to rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical grid after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. The legislation is supported by San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's handling of hurricane relief, and it is intended to be a sort of "Marshall Plan" for the island territory.
The new electrical grid would integrate renewable energy sources, so Puerto Ricans could get as much as 70 percent of their energy supplied by resources like sun and wind by 2027. Some $27 billion of the spending would go to energy and other infrastructure improvements. Another $62 billion would go toward the territory's debt, and $51 billion would be directed toward economic development.
Sanders' bill is unlikely to pass and may not even reach the Senate floor for a vote, The Washington Post reports. The governor of Puerto Rico has put in a comparatively modest request for $91 billion, while the Trump administration requested $29 billion in hurricane relief funding to be split among Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas.