President Biden to visit Puerto Rico, announce $60M plan to help territory recover from Hurricane Fiona

President Joe Biden will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday, where he will announce a massive spending plan to help the island recover from Hurricane Fiona.

The president is expected to outline his $60 million plan to help Puerto Rico rebuild after being ravaged by Hurricane Fiona weeks ago. The funding comes from Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funds will be used to strengthen flood walls, repair levees and create a flood warning system.

First Lady Jill Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will also join President Biden on the trip. 

According to a White House official, the Bidens will meet with impacted families, participate in a community service project and thank officials who are working to help damaged areas of Puerto Rico recover.

HURRICANE FIONA: PUERTO RICO FACES ANOTHER DAY WITHOUT POWER, FLASH FLOODING AND ‘CATASTROPHIC’ DAMAGE

While touting the White House’s measures to assist Puerto Rico, an official said that the Biden administration removed “onerous restrictions” from the Trump administration that made it difficult for Puerto Rico to access relief funds.

“The Biden-Harris Administration also removed onerous restrictions put in place by the last Administration restricting Puerto Rico’s ability to access nearly $5 billion in additional funds, including for critical recovery and reconstruction needs,” the official said.

Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Sept. 18, causing an island-wide power outage. Throughout Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico experienced multiple blackouts, flooding and extensive damage. 

At one point, more than 1 million people in Puerto Rico had no electricity or gas days after the storm. The Ponce region was hit particularly hard by the storm, where thousands of residents still have no power, according to the Puerto Rican government.

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Puerto Rico has devastated by natural disasters in recent years, especially from Hurricane Maria in 2017. One reason why is because of the island’s poor infrastructure for handling storms, which the White House hopes to solve.

Despite federal relief efforts, the Puerto Rican government reportedly struggles to pay its debts to contractors. An Oklahoma-based energy company says that the Puerto Rican government still owes them $365 million for restoring the island’s devastated power grid after Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

The now-defunct Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA) has reportedly not settled the issue with Mammoth Energy.

After his trip to Puerto Rico, President Biden plans to visit Florida on Wednesday to witness damage and recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian.