Editor's Note:
Luis V. Gutiérrez represented the 4th Congressional District of Illinois for more than 25 years and has been a leading advocate for immigration reform, health care, and climate action.
The opinions expressed in this comment are yours.
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(CNN) -
Three years after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the difficulties in the United States are still palpable.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans still live under blue tarps after losing their homes in the storm.
Hundreds of schools closed after the destruction on September 20, 2017. The death toll in the wake of the storm ranges from 3,000 to 4,645;
the exact count is likely to remain a mystery.
And the island's paralyzed economy has not recovered.
But on Friday, after years of inaction and omission, and just 45 days before the election, President Donald Trump, who once boasted that "I am the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico," decided it was time to send the island $ 13 billion in disaster aid.
Before the announcement, the Trump administration had been withholding billions in funds approved by Congress for disaster relief in Puerto Rico.
Such a cynical move could only lead us to ask: Why now?
Voters in Florida, a key state on the battlefield, are crucial to the presidential election.
It is no coincidence that the Sunshine State is home to thousands of Puerto Ricans who fled the island after Maria.
With the many others who were there before the tragedy, Puerto Ricans now make up nearly a third of the state's eligible Hispanic voters, a similar proportion to Cubans, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Office of the US Census
Three years have passed and the island, which was hit by a series of devastating earthquakes earlier this year and is currently facing a surge in coronavirus cases, remains remarkably resilient.
The aftermath of deadly hurricanes, extreme weather, and earthquakes often begin to fade from the news and conversation weeks after they occur.
The world advances.
But those who live in Puerto Rico cannot move on.
Because cracked and unstable bridges and roads, traffic disruptions, abandoned homes, and a population that changes forever are daily reminders that our home is not yet complete.
I was still working in Congress when the hurricane hit Puerto Rico.
The first few weeks were overwhelming.
He wanted to get to the island as soon as possible, but President Trump restricted access to the planes to members of Congress.
I was finally able to get a commercial flight to the island nine days after the storm.
While Trump suggested that Puerto Ricans only wait for government help with folded hands, I personally saw how Puerto Ricans on the mainland were the first to arrive on the island with our hands on the deck ready to work.
I visited Puerto Rico 12 times in the first three months after the tragedy and saw how terrible and ineffective the response from the federal government was.
Puerto Rico has suffered tragedies and losses.
The need is real.
Only 200 long-term recovery projects have been funded in Puerto Rico, out of more than 9,000 applications, according to FEMA's own tally.
By the end of 2018, Hurricane Maria had displaced more than 130,000 Puerto Ricans, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.The nearly 4% drop in population changed the island's demographics and put a strain on the mind and body. emotional in families that have been separated for economic and health needs.
All this is to say: we cannot take our eyes off Puerto Rico.
Our fellow citizens who live here are still struggling with a storm three years after it made landfall.
We still need a solid investment in infrastructure, health, education to rebuild and grow again.
Paying attention to the real needs in Puerto Rico and not just to what is only politically convenient is now more critical than ever, as we see a greater risk from the threat of more dangerous and frequent storms.
The 2020 hurricane season was projected to be "extremely active" and has lived up to that projection.
Puerto Rico has already been in the path of two major storms.
Both Hurricane Isaías and Tropical Storm Laura caused flooding and power cuts and running water on the island.
This is not an accident.
It is not bad luck.
This is the new normal under climate change.
Global warming is fueling stronger and more destructive hurricanes.
One day, one year, three years: the reality remains the same.
The island that we love, the island that I love deeply is in constant danger at the mercy of a climate crisis that will define our generation and those to come.
That is why, on the third anniversary, we must remind everyone that, for Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria feels like it was yesterday and could well be our tomorrow.
And, most importantly, that the pain of Puerto Rico should not be used as a political symbol.