SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers promised Puerto Ricans on Friday that they would try to speed up the island鈥檚 sluggish recovery from and earthquakes, a process that relies heavily on federal funds.
Mississippi Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee of Homeland Security, said he and other legislators met with mayors as part of a two-day trip to the U.S. territory and heard their concerns including delays in reimbursements and project approvals.
鈥淲e鈥檒l move some of those concerns into corrective actions,鈥� he said at a news conference. 鈥淭he system should work better.鈥�
Pablo Jos茅 Hern谩ndez, Puerto Rico鈥檚 representative in Congress, said the island鈥檚 mayors flagged their concerns after former Homeland Security Secretary implemented a policy that DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by that office.
The policy further delayed recovery efforts in Puerto Rico from hurricanes Maria and Fiona, and a series of strong quakes that struck in late 2019 and early 2020.
In April, new Homeland Security Secretary rescinded the rule, but challenges remain.
Thompson noted that about a third of the workforce of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency 鈥渉as been done away with.鈥�
He added: 鈥淣ot a lot of people to answer the phones or look at the paperwork because they鈥檙e not there.鈥�
Thompson said Mullin has promised that he鈥檒l bring back employees, but it鈥檚 unclear when that might happen.
鈥淔EMA鈥檚 role is to be here in a time of need when local resources have been overrun,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淥bviously, hurricanes that you鈥檙e dealing with over time have overrun local resources.鈥�
hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm. It shredded the island鈥檚 power grid and caused an estimated $90 billion in damage. In the storm鈥檚 steamy aftermath, an estimated 2,982 people died.
pummeled Puerto Rico in September 2022 as a Category 1 storm, lashing once more a power grid that hadn鈥檛 been rebuilt from Hurricane Maria.
Meanwhile, a that shook southern Puerto Rico caused an estimated $3 billion in damage.
The island is trying to recover from the disasters, with some 30% of projects still pending.
So far, nearly $43 billion in federal funds have been allocated, nearly $40 billion obligated, and $12.7 billion disbursed, according to Puerto Rico鈥檚 Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency. The office receives and awards federal grant funds.
Caguas Mayor William Miranda Torres said that a bottleneck of pending projects is driving up costs, which in turn causes more delays. He said there are many projects pending in his city.
In September 2025, a DHS report found that FEMA 鈥渄id not ensure the timely rebuilding of Puerto Rico鈥檚 electrical grid鈥� after Hurricane Maria and that FEMA officials 鈥渕issed opportunities to provide more assistance to Puerto Rico.”
Meanwhile, a by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that Puerto Rico鈥檚 government had spent less than 10% of the more than $23 billion in available federal funds at the time.
Challenges included rising costs, a lack of workers, significant reductions in insurance coverage and interruptions in the global supply chain. Many of those issues persist.
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