Puerto Rico continues struggling years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit

Puerto Rico has not fully recovered after being ravaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

The Caribbean island already was facing dire financial straits even before the storms inflicted heavy damage. 

During the latest episode of "Full Measure," journalist Sharyl Attkisson reported that out of the approximately $91 billion in U.S. tax dollars slated to assist Puerto Rico, only some $14 billion has been received.

"The biggest single chunk, $5 billion dollars, was spent fixing the electric system which was already failing before the hurricane," Attkisson noted.

"There's a bureaucracy in the way that prevents actual funds from being dispersed to individuals," a history professor in Puerto Rico told Attkisson on the show. "Certainly contractors are making money but individuals are not getting relief." 

Attkisson reported that prior to the storms, the island's population included many poor people: "At least 46 percent of its residents, 1.3 million people, were on welfare before the hurricanes," she said.

Puerto Rico's financial problems predated the arrival of the two hurricanes and exacerbate its current predicament, Attkisson noted. She explained that "communities normally fund their own immediate repairs and apply to get paid back by FEMA. But Puerto Rico was bankrupt and mired in a corruption scandal before the hurricanes. That means they didn't have cash on hand."

Attkisson said that there were protests against the government in July when she was in Puerto Rico. "Fueling discontent in Puerto Rico is news that a number of government officials and contractors are under FBI investigation over allegations involving misuse of all the taxpayer money sent in after Hurricane Maria," she reported.

"The FBI has arrested six top Puerto Rican government officials and consultants," she said. 

"Also charged: FEMA official Ahsha Tribble," Attkisson said. "Once an Obama administration homeland security adviser, Tribble took the lead on getting Puerto Rico's electric grid fixed. Now she's accused of taking bribes to steer a $1.8 billion dollar contract to a company called Cobra. Cobra's CEO at the time, and a FEMA friend of Tribble's who went to work for Cobra, were also arrested. All have denied wrongdoing," Attkisson said.