Puerto Ricans Rationing Medications, Food As Lawmakers Battle Over Disaster Funding Bill

The island is still attempting to recover from being hit by category-4 Hurricane Maria in 2017. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans dig in their heels over adding more money for Puerto Rico into a larger disaster aid package.

The Associated Press: Senate Barrels Toward Showdown Vote On Disaster Relief
A fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats over hurricane relief for Puerto Rico is imperiling a widely backed disaster aid bill that is a top priority for some of Trump's Southern GOP allies. The amount of money in dispute is relatively small, but Trump feels antipathy toward the U.S. territory's government and Senate Republicans are taking a hard line — for now — in denying Democratic demands for more aid for Puerto Rico, which was devastated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017. (Taylor, 4/1)

The Associated Press: Puerto Ricans Struggle To Buy Food Amid Funding Shortfall
Iraida Vargas can no longer afford the two kinds of insulin her aging mother needs and has stopped buying fresh fruit and vegetables as billions of dollars in federal funds that help Puerto Ricans buy food, get medical treatment and recover from Hurricane Maria dwindle despite pleas from the U.S. territory that Congress take action. Vargas and her family are among the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans feeling the sting of what the territorial government says are insufficient federal funds to help the island recover from the Category 4 storm amid a 12-year recession. (Coto, 3/29)

And in other news from Capitol Hill —

Bloomberg: Democrats Urge HHS Watchdog To Probe Verma’s Use Of Funds 
House and Senate Democratic committee leaders ask the Health and Human Services’ inspector general to review if Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma followed federal rules when it came to awarding millions of dollars in “questionable CMS contracts to Republican communications consultants for her own benefit.” The request was made in a March 29 letter from House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings, Senate Finance top Democrat Ron Wyden and Senate Health top Democrat Patty Murray, according to a statement. (Chipman, 3/29)

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