Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday that federal assistance is on its way to Puerto Rico, a day after he broke his recent silence about the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria since it made landfall on the US territory.

Trump also announced that he would visit Puerto Rico next Tuesday, saying it was the earliest he could reach the battered island.

"Thank you to Carmen Yulín Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, for your kind words on FEMA etc. We are working hard. Much food and water there/on way," he wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning, moments after Yulín Cruz appeared on CNN's "New Day."

Sharing harrowing details of rescue efforts in her city, Yulín Cruz praised the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "great job" and "logistics help."

"Our bodies are so tired, but our souls are so full of strength that we will get to everyone we can get to," she said.

After days of public silence on the hurricane, Trump tweeted criticism Monday evening, casting blame on the island's poor infrastructure and economic instability.

"Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble. It's old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities - and doing well. #FEMA," he wrote in a series of tweets.

Responding Tuesday, Yulín Cruz said, "These are two different topics. One topic is the massive debt, which we know we have and it's been dealt with. But you don't put debt above people, you put people above debt."

Trump traveled to Texas and Florida in the immediate aftermath of the major storms that struck them earlier this month, but officials said Monday the devastated territory was not yet capable of hosting a presidential visit. In announcing his upcoming visit on Tuesday, Trump said he may also stop in the US Virgin Islands.

Asked about a potential visit from the President, Yulín Cruz defended Trump and emphasized the need for federal funding.

"I am sure that as the United States President, you know, he can come to Puerto Rico if he wants to. He has been not only tweeting, but I know he has been in contact with the governor, and we appreciate that. Let's make sure that this is not a handout, this is a moral imperative, and it is a plea for help and it a plea for us to be done right," she said.

The President is scheduled to receive a briefing on hurricane recovery efforts from homeland security adviser Tom Bossert later Tuesday morning. Bossert traveled to Puerto Rico alongside FEMA Administrator Brock Long on Monday to assess damage and federal needs.

The administration has not yet sent a disaster spending request to Congress, and it's not clear whether Bossert will have a fixed dollar amount to present to the President during his Tuesday briefing.

As of Monday morning, FEMA had $5.03 billion available for disaster spending between now and the end of September, an agency spokesperson told CNN. When the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1, the disaster relief fund will be replenished with an additional $6.7 billion.

Two senior House GOP sources tell CNN they expect to get the official request from the Trump administration in mid-October. A senior administration official says that is the White House's expected timing as well.

Defending the federal response in Puerto Rico as "anything but slow" Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the administration will be able to determine appropriate funds "once we have a greater insight into the full assessment of damage."

As those hurricanes hit the states, Trump often tweeted comments on the size and impact of the storm as well as praising first-responders.

Before his latest messages this week, Trump last tweeted about Maria on Wednesday, the day it made landfall in Puerto Rico. The next day, he mentioned the situation to reporters while taking a photo with the Ukrainian president, saying the island was in "very, very, very tough shape" adding that its electrical grid was "destroyed."

But he didn't make any public comments about the island over the weekend.

Some Democrats worry that Puerto Rico is not getting the same amount of swift attention that Florida and Texas received.

"The fact of the matter is the administration has not been able to comprehend the fact that people in Puerto Rico are dealing with life and death issues," Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-New York, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House, told CNN's Kate Bolduan Tuesday morning.

"The most fundamental duty of the President of the United States is to protect the homeland," she added.

In response to Democrats' concerns, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who chairs the House appropriations committee that is working on an aid package, said the island's residents will get the same help as those in the mainland US.

"The people of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands remain in our thoughts as they struggle to recover from successive Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The challenges they face are truly tremendous. But they should be reassured that they are entitled to equal treatment under the law and the Appropriations Committee and House leadership will assure that every step of the way," he said.</s>Trump announced the visit after the administration came under criticism for its response to the damage on the island that is home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens. The island has been coping with shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and various forms of communication after Hurricane Maria struck earlier this month.

Trump said Tuesday is the earliest he can visit without disrupting recovery operations.

He says he may also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Trump says Puerto Rico is important to him. He says Puerto Ricans are “great people and we need to help them.”</s>A Seattle pre-school is paying close attention to the devastation in Puerto Rico. More than a dozen staff members at La Escuelita Bilingual School are from the island, including the school's founder who is now trapped there.

Director Teresa Baradas said they finally heard from the school's founder last weekend.

Carmen Masso flew to Puerto Rico for her annual trip home to see family just before the hurricane. Now she can't get back to Seattle and was barely able to get a phone call out to relatives here.

"The communication was barely, you know, easy to understand each other," said Baradas. "But she says she's fine, personally no loss within the family, which is good. But two cousins lost their homes."

Teacher Oti Reyes said working with children keeps him from being overwhelmed with worry. His sister Naomi lives in Loiza, Puerto Rico with her family.

Reyes still doesn't know if they survived the hurricane.

"I can do nothing," Reyes said. "I don't know if she's okay. She had three kids."

Staff members Minerva Rosa and Chavely Cherena at least know their loved ones on the island are okay. But the devastation they see in the photos sent to them is only matched by the stories they hear.

"My sister described it as feeling and seeming unreal, you know," Cherena said. "There are people committing suicide. It's sad. They've lost everything."

Their families have lost so much and they feel powerless to help them. When asked if the U-S is doing enough, they say the wheels are turning too slowly.

"The level of compassion and empathy is a lot lower than I thought it was going to be," said Chavely.

The school is working with La Isla Restaurant in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood to collect money and canned food to send to Puerto Rico. You can drop off donations at the school's two locations in Rainier Valley or Green Lake neighborhoods.

La Isla is hosting a fundraiser this Sunday, October 1, to raise money for relief efforts.

These charities are also collecting cash donations as well:

- United for Puerto Rico - led by the first lady of Puerto Rico.</s>(CNN) President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday that federal assistance is on its way to Puerto Rico, a day after he commented for the first time in days about the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria since it made landfall on the US territory.

"Thank you to Carmen Yulín Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, for your kind words on FEMA etc. We are working hard. Much food and water there/on way," he wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning, moments after Yulín Cruz appeared on CNN's "New Day."

Sharing harrowing details of rescue efforts in her city, Yulín Cruz praised the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "great job" and "logistics help."

"Our bodies are so tired, but our souls are so full of strength that we will get to everyone we can get to," she said.

Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico last week, whipping the island with Irma-level winds, drenching it in Harvey-level flooding, crippling communications, decimating buildings and damaging a dam that puts downstream residents at risk of catastrophe. Without power and communications for much of the island, millions of people have been cut off from the world since the hurricane hit.

After days of public silence on the hurricane, Trump tweeted criticism Monday evening, casting blame on the island's poor infrastructure and economic instability.

"Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble. It's old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities - and doing well. #FEMA," he wrote in a series of tweets.

Responding Tuesday, Yulín Cruz said, "These are two different topics. One topic is the massive debt, which we know we have and it's been dealt with. But you don't put debt above people, you put people above debt."

Trump himself has vowed to travel to Puerto Rico, as he did in the immediate aftermath of storms in Texas and Florida, but officials say the devastated territory is not yet capable of hosting a presidential visit.

Asked about a potential visit from the President, Yulín Cruz defended Trump and emphasized the need for federal funding.

"I am sure that as the United States President, you know, he can come to Puerto Rico if he wants to. He has been not only tweeting, but I know he has been in contact with the governor, and we appreciate that. Let's make sure that this is not a handout, this is a moral imperative, and it is a plea for help and it a plea for us to be done right," she said.

The President is scheduled to receive a briefing on hurricane recovery efforts from homeland security adviser Tom Bossert later Tuesday morning. Bossert traveled to Puerto Rico alongside FEMA Administrator Brock Long on Monday to assess damage and federal needs.

The administration has not yet sent a disaster spending request to Congress, and it's not clear whether Bossert will have a fixed dollar amount to present to the President during his Tuesday briefing.

As of Monday morning, FEMA had $5.03 billion available for disaster spending between now and the end of September, an agency spokesperson told CNN. When the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1, the disaster relief fund will be replenished with an additional $6.7 billion.

Two senior House GOP sources tell CNN they expect to get the official request from the Trump administration in mid-October. A senior administration official says that is the White House's expected timing as well.

Defending the federal response in Puerto Rico as "anything but slow" Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the administration will be able to determine appropriate funds "once we have a greater insight into the full assessment of damage."

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said on CNN Monday that the US commonwealth faces a humanitarian crisis, urging Congress to provide an aid package.

"We need something tangible, a bill that actually answers to our need right now," he said. "Otherwise, there will be ... a massive exodus to the (mainland) United States."</s>Trump announced the visit after the administration came under criticism for its response to the damage on the island that is home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens. The island has been coping with shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and various forms of communication after Hurricane Maria struck earlier this month.

Trump said Tuesday is the earliest he can visit without disrupting recovery operations.

He says he may also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Trump says Puerto Rico is important to him. He says Puerto Ricans are "great people and we need to help them."</s>As Puerto Rico struggles amid mass power outages and food and water shortages, some politicians and experts say that one 97-year-old maritime law will make recovering from the disaster much more difficult.

The Jones Act, passed after World War I to protect the U.S. ship-building industry, requires that domestic shipping must be conducted by U.S.-owned, U.S.-made ships staffed by American crews. This has meant that Puerto Rico, an island that relies on imports from the U.S., pays more than twice as much as neighboring islands for American goods, according to a report by former International Monetary Fund economists.

Nydia Velázquez, a Puerto Rican-born congresswoman who represents parts of New York City, is leading the call for a one-year suspension of the act while the island rebuilds from hurricane damage.

“The island is now facing an unprecedented uphill battle to rebuild its homes, businesses and communities,” said Velázquez in a letter written to the Department of Homeland Security on Monday and signed by seven other members of Congress. “Temporarily loosening these requirements – for the express purpose of disaster recovery – will allow Puerto Rico to have more access to the oil needed for its power plants, food, medicines, clothing, and building supplies.”

The Department of Homeland Security suspended the Jones Act on Sept. 8 because of disruptions of the oil supply system after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but the waiver expired on Sept. 22. Hurricane Maria hit on Sept. 20, knocking out all power to the island and nearly all cell phone towers.

“My expectation is to rebuild stronger than ever,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello told NBC News. “But clearly if this is not taken seriously ... Puerto Rico is going to collapse into a humanitarian crisis.”

The Trump administration said this week it would not extend the waiver for Puerto Rico. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that officials think that waiving the Jones Act would be unnecessary.

An assessment by Customs and Border Protection, an office of Homeland Security, showed there was “sufficient capacity” of U.S.-flagged vessels to move commodities to Puerto Rico, said spokesman Gregory Moore, in a statement to Reuters.

“The limitation is going to be port capacity to offload and transit, not vessel availability,” Moore said.

Democratic Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez from Illinois on Tuesday criticized leaving the Jones Act in place, amid Puerto Rico's financial crisis. The territory has been in a severe recession since 2006 and declared a form of bankruptcy earlier this year.

Gutiérrez, who was among those who signed Velázquez’s letter to the Department of Homeland Security, said the U.S. government should suspend the Jones Act at least for a decade if not repeal it permanently.

“Since it was imposed on Puerto Rico, the Jones Act has cost Puerto Rican consumers more than all the money owed to Wall Street, yet the president reminds us of the debt in his tweets,” he said on the floor of Congress. “Let the ships flow as quickly and as cheaply from wherever they may come from because this is an emergency.”

Other politicians have spoken out in the past against the Jones Act for needlessly hurting Puerto Rico’s economy.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona first introduced legislation to repeal the law in 2010 and tried again in July.

“I have long advocated the repeal of the Jones Act, an archaic and burdensome law that hinders free trade, stifles the economy, and ultimately harms consumers,” he said.

On Tuesday, McCain said he was urging the Department of Homeland Security to waive the act for Puerto Rico to aid its recovery efforts. In a letter to Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, he also asked that it assess how a long-term waiver or full repeal would effect hurricane-damaged communities, including those in Florida and Texas.

Economists at the University of Puerto Rico found that the Jones Act cost the island’s economy $17 billion between 1990 and 2010, according to a 2012 report.

Republican Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama cited this study in 2016 when he, too, called for Puerto Rico to be exempt from the Jones Act. Three American territories are exempt from the Jones Act: the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.

Other studies have said the Jones Act costs Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska about $2.8 billion to $9.8 billion per year.

A report by the Government Accountability Office in 2013 said that although the Jones Act may make imports to the island more expensive, the dedicated routes also ensure reliability and keep more than 1,400 American jobs.

In April, the Trump administration had appeared to be moving forward with an Obama-era proposal to reverse the Jones Act, but it was withdrawn in May.

The Jones Act was last temporarily waived in December of 2012 so that petroleum products could be delivered for relief assistance after superstorm Sandy.

Op-eds in major national newspapers have endorsed calls to get rid of the act, including one published Monday in The New York Times by Nelson A. Denis, a former New York state assemblyman who has written extensively on Puerto Rico's economic crisis.

“A humanitarian crisis is about to explode in Puerto Rico,” Denis wrote. “But the consequences of Jones Act relief would be immediate and powerful. This is not the time to price-gouge the entire population. It is time for Congress to act ethically and responsibly and suspend the Jones Act in Puerto Rico.”

The consequences of leaving the Jones Act in place could be dire for the 3.5 million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico, some experts warn.

“It means extending the suffering,” said Dennis Nixon, a professor of marine law at the University of Rhode Island. “It’s hot there today, there’s a risk of thunder showers. They’ve got no electricity, no drinking water."

Nixon said that it could lead to an even more painful financial crisis for Puerto Ricans, who might start leaving the island in a forced mass migration to the U.S.

"It would hugely accelerate the ability to move goods into Puerto Rico, because you’d basically be getting a 20 percent discount on everything," he said.



Jonathan Gutoff, a maritime law professor at the Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island, said that even though the Jones Act may not be hindering aid from reaching the island, it does increase prices for consumers and makes it harder for businesses to market their exports.

“Given that Puerto Rico is suffering from a fiscal crisis and the aftermath of Maria, anything to help Puerto Ricans should be done and the Jones Act should be suspended,” he said.

Whether or not to repeal the act is a tougher question, Gutoff said. Because of the role of the Jones Act in maintaining the American boat building industry for offshore work, more study should be done before a repeal, he said.

The American Maritime Partnership said it is actively working with the Trump administration, FEMA, The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD), and other relief organizations to deliver food, fuel, first aid supplies and building materials to Puerto Rico. Approximately 9,500 containers of goods have already arrived on the island to help in recovery efforts, according to the partnership.

“A steady stream of additional supplies keeps arriving in Puerto Rico on American vessels and on international ships from around the world,” said the charmain of the partnership, Thomas Allegretti. “The problem now is distributing supplies from Puerto Rico’s ports inland by surface transportation.”



The Shipbuilders Council of America did not immediately respond for comment on the Jones Act, but according to its website the council strongly supports the act, calling it "vital to America’s economic, national and homeland security."</s>WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’ll visit hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico next Tuesday. Trump announced the visit after the administration came under criticism for its response to the damage on the island that is home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens.

The island has been coping with shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and various forms of communication after Hurricane Maria struck earlier this month.

Trump said Tuesday is the earliest he can visit without disrupting recovery operations.

He says he may also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands. Trump says Puerto Rico is important to him. He says Puerto Ricans are “great people and we need to help them.”
• ‘United for Puerto Rico Tampa Bay’ collecting supplies to send to friends, family
• MacDill stages missions of mercy to save lives in areas devastated by Hurricane Maria
• AT&T creates website to help locate family, friends in Puerto Rico</s>Trump announced the visit after the administration came under criticism for its response to the damage on the island that is home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens. The island has been coping with shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and various forms of communication after Hurricane Maria struck earlier this month.

Trump said Tuesday is the earliest he can visit without disrupting recovery operations.

He says he may also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Trump says Puerto Rico is important to him. He says Puerto Ricans are “great people and we need to help them.”</s>AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – An agency based in Colorado in charge of defending America’s homeland has undertaken a huge humanitarian mission.

We’re talking about the U.S. Northern Command. Right now they’re coordinating a massive response to the recent natural disasters, including the hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico.

Most of the island has now power, water, food or fuel.

Puerto Rican and Congressional leaders say federal aid has been too slow to reach the storm-ravaged U.S. territory, but USNORTHCOM is sending help as we speak.

Military personnel from all over the nation have deployed to disaster zones hit by fires and hurricanes, including service members from the National Guard at Buckley Air Force Base.

USNORTHCOM is responsible for coordinating those missions, putting Colorado in the eye of the recovery effort storm.

“We’ve been operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost the last month and a half,” says Capt. Scott Langam with USNORTHCOM.

USNORTHCOM answers the call from FEMA and other federal agencies when disaster strikes.

CBS4 visited the agencies headquarters where civil support missions involving all branches of the military are organized to disaster zones like Texas and Puerto Rico.

“It’s our job to make sure we have the right stuff at the right place at the right time,” says Langam.

The missions provide military aircraft for rescues, delivery supplies and clean up the devastated areas.

This summer brought unprecedented disasters and an exceptional number of calls to Colorado.

Langam says, “This is probably one of the most complex events that we’ve had given the geographic nature from TX, FL all the way down to Puerto Rico.”

NORTHCOM say coordinating rescue missions cannot deter them from their primary role of homeland defense.

“That is something we’re responsible for defending our homeland 24/7/365,” says Langam.

Agency leaders say the end of the hurricane season doesn’t bring an end to their disaster response.

With winter around the corner, blizzards will be on their radar, along with anything else Mother Nature throws their way.</s>Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) After spending the weekend feuding with football players and trashing Sen. John McCain , on Monday night President Donald Trump turned his attention to the devastation still faced by several regions in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

"Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble," he tweeted to his 39 million followers.

Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble..

Just what is wrong with the President's tweets about these areas struggling through a tremendous recovery?

Let's begin with Puerto Rico, an island of 3.4 million American citizens (more than many states) that has been plunged into darkness for the foreseeable future. But it wasn't until Tuesday, six days after Maria hit Puerto Rico, that Trump made a substantive late-to-the-disaster statement during a press conference with the Spanish foreign minister at the White House.

"All available resources, including the military, are being marshaled to save lives," he said. And "we have been really treated very, very nicely by the governor and everyone else." He allowed that the people of Puerto Rico "are important to all of us."

That would have been more convincing had Trump to that point not been essentially silent about the chaos there, though he did also note in a tweet Monday: "its old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape was devastated."

, and his vice president's, failure to visit the island thus far (Trump announced Tuesday that he would go next week -- "some people say, I read it this morning, it's literally destroyed") this Taken with hisand his vice president'sfailure to visit the island thus far (Trump announced Tuesday that he would go next week -- "some people say, I read it this morning, it's literally destroyed") this seems to be an attempt to deflect accountability away from his administration's role in the recovery effort. As of Monday, according to an article in New York magazine, party leaders "were waiting for a formal disaster request from the Trump administration."

But Trump tweeted on: "Much of the island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with."

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, and its people are US citizens, although most Americans do not know that. Although they are Americans, Puerto Ricans on the island do not have a voting member of Congress to advocate for their interests. If only they could count on the President to amplify the fact that they need help -- and they need it quickly.

Which brings us to the states Trump DID mention in his tweets — although it's unclear whether he knew what he was talking about. Mr. President, Texas and Florida are not "doing great." They were doing great before two hurricanes walloped them, but it will be a long time before they are back to pre-Harvey and pre-Irma conditions.

Florida is in a similar predicament. The state, especially Miami, was lucky to dodge the full force of a Category 5 hurricane. Still, thousands of people were without power for days, and they, too, are salvaging their lives and getting to work on rebuilding. Thanks to Irma, Florida's tourism, agriculture , and insurance industries are reeling. Sunshine State residents are facing unexpected property damage and financial losses , with many planning to apply for federal assistance. A FEMA disaster recovery center opened in Miami-Dade County just this week.

Trump's casual — and ludicrous — pronouncement about how "great" Texas and Florida are doing after two severe weather events downplays the long road ahead for these states, and amounts to an abuse of his position as chief executive with the power of the bully pulpit.

The risk is that the short-attention-span American public and media will soon move on to the next big story and forget about our fellow Americans' suffering. Though it may come as a shock to the President, this is not all about him; just because he has visited Texas and Florida post-storm does not mean things are going well there.

In contrast to the very personal ways that Trump often engages in Twitter when he is on the attack, his tweets about storm damage in the country he leads, particularly when it comes to Puerto Rico, have an oddly impassive tone, as though he were an observer.

Yet he is the chief executive, with the power to elevate a national discussion or issue, literally, at his fingertips. That he has taken nearly a week to do so in the case of Puerto Rico only adds to the perception that he cares little about Latinos ; no wonder 67% of Latinos disapprove of the job he is doing as President.

Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands all deserve continuing attention and concern from our President. Trump's tweets stand as their own shameful disaster.
The United States Department of Homeland Security says it will not waive the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (or "Jones Act") in response to the ongoing disaster in Puerto Rico.