Rubio: Puerto Rico gov should put aside statehood push, focus on governing
Source: The Hill
BY JOSH DELK - 01/19/18 05:14 PM EST
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday called out Puerto Rico's governor for spending too much time pushing for the territory to become a state and too little time governing the island that is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria.
“If I were the governor of a state or territory that does not have power, I would spend more time [there] than in Orlando,” Rubio told Puerto Rico's largest newspaper, El Nuevo Dia. “Sometimes, when people feel criticized and under pressure, they look for someone to blame, because they did not achieve this or that. I do not think it is smart to turn the Puerto Rican issue into a partisan issue.”
Rubio's remarks, translated in the Miami Herald, come after the territory's governor visited Washington last week along with a "shadow" delegation of two senators and house members representing Puerto Rico demanding seats in Congress and calling for a path to statehood.
Rosello recently said Rubio's support for the GOP-backed tax plan that he called a "devastating blow" to Puerto Rican citizens was "disappointing," saying the bill did not do enough to help the island's struggling economy, which was decimated by the powerful hurricane in September.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/369819-rubio-puerto-rico-gov-should-put-aside-statehood-push-focus-on
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