美国国家公共电台 NPR--Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón on Puerto Rico's Fiona damage, 5 years after Maria

Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón on Puerto Rico's Fiona damage, 5 years after Maria

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner², Jenniffer González-Colón, about the devastation³ of the island's critical infrastructure⁴ by Hurricane Fiona.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Much of Puerto Rico remains⁵ without power or clean water. They are living in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, which struck just five years after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico is not a state, so it does not have a state delegation⁶ in Congress, but it is allowed a nonvoting representative. And she is Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, who is a member of the Republican Party.

Welcome to the program.

JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

INSKEEP: And we'll note, you're in Washington. You're not in San Juan or elsewhere in Puerto Rico. But from what you have learned, how does the damage on the island compare to Hurricane Maria?

GONZALEZ-COLON: They're two complete different stories. The Hurricane Maria just ravaged⁷ the island for almost a complete day with hurricane forces of a Category 5. Hurricane Fiona was a Category 1 hurricane that brought a lot of water. And that saturated⁸ the soil. And that's the reason you may have a lot of damages in roads, bridges that were washed away by the floods. So the devastation is mostly in the south part - southwestern part of the island and the center part of the island. In comparison to Hurricane Maria, that was a complete devastation for the whole island. We are pretty much short yet to identify how much is going to be the economic impact of the disaster. As we speak, municipalities and the government of Puerto Rico are still doing the assessment⁹ of those damages. The government of Puerto Rico requested a national declaration of disaster that needs to be approved by the president in order to receive public assistance and the resources from FEMA.

INSKEEP: This was a test of infrastructure that was rebuilt after Maria. As best you can tell, how has it held up?

GONZALEZ-COLON: Well, there are several other areas, like a bridge that was connected in the town of Utuado. There was a temporary bridge that was put there because the communities were isolated¹⁰ and incommunicated (ph) after Hurricane Maria. And one of those bridges went away. I mean, it was washed away by the floods. So we're still waiting for a lot of the permanent work for those facilities in many towns on the island - that we're expected to be beginning to process in the next year. So let's see how the impact of this hurricane is going to delay a lot of the permanent work of reconstruction¹¹ by Hurricane Irma and Maria.

Remember that we still got $11.5 billion allocated¹² to the island for the reconstruction of the power grid¹³ that are not being used yet. So I think this is the most challenging part of the reconstruction. Yesterday we just have the anniversary of five year after the hurricane, but a lot of reconstruction is still needed. And now on top of that, we got Hurricane Fiona, and yet the hurricane season is not over yet.

INSKEEP: Representative Gonzalez-Colon, earlier this week, I posted something about 3.2 million Puerto Ricans without power. And some people instantly replied words to the effect of give them statehood, give them statehood. They saw a connection between Puerto Rico's colonial status and the status of the infrastructure. Is there a connection between one and the other?

GONZALEZ-COLON: Definitely is a direct connection, and the reason for that is that Puerto Rico, as a territory of the United States, needs to comply with a lot of federal laws. But we do not receive the same resources as a state. And I will give you just one example. Health care, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security income - those are programs that apply completely different to Puerto Rico. And because we don't have enough local resources to match those federal programs, we cannot access some of them. And those are just a few examples. We can tell you about more than 47 federal laws that treat Puerto Rico differently. And that means that this economic situation on the island, where you have a 47% of poverty rate - it's higher than any other state.

Once Puerto Rico become a state, that will allow the island to normalize our economy, like it happened with Hawaii and with Alaska many, many years ago. And I think this is the right thing to do. I mean, I am certainly sure that Puerto Rico is going to become a state. The question is, how long is it going to take for the island to achieve that equality and be treated as first-class American citizens?

INSKEEP: I know that you're hoping for a vote this year on what would effectively be a statehood bill or would set up a process that could lead to statehood or another result. Do you have the votes to get that through at least the House of Representatives?

GONZALEZ-COLON: I think - this is the first time ever in the history of Congress that there is a bipartisan bill that would allow a self-determination process for Puerto Rico that already passed a committee of - the Natural Resources Committee in the House. So it's expected to be in the floor of the House at the end of this year, and you will have Republican votes. So it's a bipartisan bill. And I really expect, and the people of Puerto Rico are expecting, to have that bill approved.

INSKEEP: You just said you will have Republican votes. Republicans have been perceived historically as opposing statehood for Puerto Rico. We could give lots of motivations, but the simple partisan¹⁴ one is that they presume that there are Democratic votes on - in Puerto Rico. But you believe there is significant support within your party?

GONZALEZ-COLON: I mean, it is in the Republican platform. Since 1954, the Republican platform includes favoring and supporting statehood for the island. You got op-eds written by Ronald Reagan and many other Republican presidents supporting statehood. So it is part of the policy of the GOP. So I totally believe that there's a lot of miseducation and misconception about whether Puerto Rico is going to become a Democrat¹⁵ or a Republican state. I think it's going to be a purple one. It will depend on parties and candidates. But yes, we are very conservative in many other issues.

INSKEEP: And just in a few seconds that are left, do you believe the substantial body of Puerto Rican voters would favor statehood as opposed to independence or some other choice?

GONZALEZ-COLON: Oh, definitely. And we voted for that in the last three plebiscites and elections. So people of Puerto Rico are ready - are now ready to support statehood, so that's going to happen on the island.

INSKEEP: Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon is a member of the Republican Party and Puerto Rico's representative in Congress. Thanks so much.

GONZALEZ-COLON: Good morning, and thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

12 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

13 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

14 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

15 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。