New relief and border support efforts could be available to Florida and Puerto Rican communities hit by hurricanes last year if a new bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) gains traction.
The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Border Security and Disaster Relief Act of 2019 would provide $3.6 billion for efforts along the Mexican border, as well as $14.949 billion in relief for victims of the 2018 hurricanes. On the relief side, this more specifically includes efforts to reconstruct Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, nutrition assistance for a beleaguered Puerto Rico, coverage for farms’ losses and rural watershed recovery, among others.
“Addressing the crisis on our southern border and helping local communities still struggling to recover from recent disasters, including communities in Florida devastated by Hurricane Michael, should not be a partisan issue,” Rubio said. “Yet Congress continues to fail the American people by ignoring the border crisis and playing politics with disaster funding at the expense of local communities. Every day Congress fails to act, the crisis at our border worsens, and we put local communities increasingly at risk of running out of the necessary resources needed to address critical issues and fully recover from recent disasters. It is time to act.”
It is the border issue that could provide the bill its greatest flash point, however. In all, the $3.6 billion it devotes to border security would be used to beef of aircraft, cameras, sensors and unmanned aerial systems, and require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit an updated risk-based plan for further improving security. It does not specifically provide any funds for President Donald Trump’s proposed southern border wall, which has garnered much of the area’s focus in recent years.