I notice that President Trump has waived the Jones act, which restricts most food and materials shipments to Puerto Rico to US built, owned and flagged ships leaving US ports. This is one of the first things I've seen from Trump that makes sense, since the Jones Act has cost Puerto Rico an amount of money equal to its total debt, according to a New York Times op-ed.    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/opinion/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

Congress should repeal the Jones Act, designed to benefit wealthy US interests, with no thought to Puerto Rico. In addition Congress should free up 295 million in Medicaid funding that it approved this spring.

Puerto Rico's people are US citizens. We should care for them after a disaster just as we care for Texas, Florida and the US Virgin Islands.

Labels: moderation: safe