美国总统乔·拜登周一与波多黎各州长佩德罗·皮尔鲁西就联邦政府在波多黎各领土问题上的支持进行了交谈本周末遭到致命飓风菲奥娜的袭击。
根据白宫的说法,拜登在从英国女王伊丽莎白二世的国葬返回时与空军一号的Pierluisi通了电话,讨论了他的政府在菲奥娜事件后对波多黎各紧急情况和恢复工作的支持,菲奥娜事件在波多黎各造成至少一人死亡,在法属瓜德罗普岛造成一人死亡。
飓风还导致整个波多黎各岛断电,当地一家主要能源公司表示,这需要几天时间才能解决。
白宫说,拜登告诉皮耶路易西,联邦紧急事务管理局(FEMA)局长克里斯威尔(Deanne Schmidt)将于周二前往圣胡安,与当地和州官员以及受影响的公民会面,评估紧急需求。
白宫表示,总统描述了“联邦政府对该岛的支持激增,超过300名联邦人员已经在努力协助应对和恢复。”
白宫表示,由于波多黎各仍在从几乎整整五年前的飓风玛丽亚的影响中恢复过来,这场灾难导致当时的总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)对联邦政府的反应进行了严格审查,拜登坚持认为,他将确保联邦官员继续工作,以完成这项工作。
Governor Pedro Pierluisi speaks at the Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2, 2022.
Xavier J. Araujo/AP,文件
根据政府问责办公室在玛丽亚之后,联邦应急管理局对波多黎各的支持是该机构历史上最大和最长的。
截至2018年4月,联邦应急管理局已承诺120亿美元用于应对和恢复。
President Biden speaks with Puerto Rico's governor amid Hurricane Fiona aftermath
President Joe Biden spoke Monday with Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi about the federal government's support after the island territorywas hit this weekend by deadly Hurricane Fiona.
According to the White House, Biden -- who spoke by phone with Pierluisi from Air Force One while returning from the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II -- discussed his administration's support for Puerto Rico's emergency and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Fiona, which killed at least one person in Puerto Rico and one person in the French territory of Guadeloupe.
The hurricane also left the entire island of Puerto Rico without power, which a major local energy company said would take days to resolve.
The White House said that Biden told Pierluisi the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Deanne Criswell, will go to San Juan on Tuesday to meet with local and state officials and affected citizens to assess urgent needs.
The White House said the president described "the surge of Federal support to the island, where more than 300 Federal personnel are already working to assist with response and recovery."
With Puerto Rico still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Maria almost exactly five years ago -- a disaster that led to intense scrutiny of the federal government's response under then-President Donald Trump -- Biden insisted he will ensure federal officials remain on the job to get it done, the White House said.
According to theGovernment Accountability Office, FEMA efforts supporting Puerto Rico after Maria were the biggest and longest in the agency's history.
As of April 2018, $12 billion had been committed by FEMA for response and recovery.