US Democrats Pledge Puerto Rico Recovery Aid

A group of United States Democratic lawmakers, led by Bennie Thompson, visited United States — Puerto Rico and pledged to accelerate the island's recovery from destructive hurricanes Maria and Fiona, and a series of earthquakes. The recovery process, heavily reliant on federal funds from the United States, has been plagued by delays due to policies like the one implemented by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which required personal approval for United States — United States Department of Homeland Security expenditures over $100,000. Although new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rescinded this rule, challenges persist, including a significant reduction in the United States — Federal Emergency Management Agency's workforce. Reports from the United States — United States Department of Homeland Security and the United States — United States Government Accountability Office have highlighted failures in timely rebuilding and low disbursement rates of allocated federal funds, with only $12.7 billion disbursed out of nearly $43 billion allocated. Mayors, including William Miranda Torres of Caguas, expressed concerns about project bottlenecks driving up costs and causing further delays.