US Senator Warren Quizzes 2 Federal Agencies Whether Trump Withholds Aid From Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2019) Potential 2020 presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren has written to the heads of two US Federal agencies to investigate claims the Trump administration may be withholding aid from Puerto Rico, Warren's office said in a press release.

"Senator Elizabeth Warren (on Monday) wrote to the heads of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to inquire about reports that the Trump Administration is using the shutdown as an excuse to intentionally withhold... aid for Puerto Rico recovery efforts," the release said on Tuesday.

In the letters, Warren inquired about reports that in September 2018, President Donald Trump cut off all disaster-recovery funds to Puerto Rico, and that the Trump administration was using the federal government shutdown to stall the disbursement of housing funds for Puerto Rico, the release said.

"I am particularly concerned about the fact that HUD has halted the disbursement of billions of Dollars of housing recovery funds for Puerto Rico and other states and territories affected by recent territories as a result of the President's ongoing government shutdown," Warren wrote.

HUD allocated $1.5 billion to Puerto Rico on February 1, 2018, from an appropriation enacted in September 2017, and an additional $18.5 in April 2018 from an appropriation enacted on February 9, 2018, the release noted.