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It’s been 41 days since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, and residents of the Island are still without basic necessities as the terrible toll of the storm continues to be visible and dangerous. More than 70% of the island remains without power, access to clean water remains restricted, and, stunningly, authorities are having to make the decision to burn more than 900 bodies because they do not have the capacity to conduct proper burials. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is failing to provide an adequate number of representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, has thrown paper towels at those in need, claims that it will take 100 years to rebuild Puerto Rico (when even the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II took six years), and is increasingly mired in the Whitefish Energy scandal, which the FBI is now investigating. American citizens are in desperate need of help and attention, but Donald Trump and those who should be aiding Puerto Ricans seem to be more focused on picking political fights and dealing with investigations and indictments.
The Whitefish Energy scandal, only the latest to plague this administration, continues to unfurl. A highly questionable $300 million contract awarded to the two-person company without any experience working on a project bigger than just a few miles, let alone one that requires work on over 1,000, raised eyebrows almost immediately. Whitefish Energy’s absurd contract included clauses stating that government bodies do not have the right to audit or review the costs and profits from the contract, and that the Puerto Rican government waives any claim against the company for delayed completion of work.
The problems swirling around Whitefish Energy go far beyond it’s absurd contract. The questions began to mount when it was discovered that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke wasn’t merely from the same small town as the head of the company, but has deep, personal ties to them. Zinke’s own son worked for Whitefish Energy. After the company landed the sweetheart deal, it sought out Zinke’s -- not their senators or congressman -- assistance because they don’t have the capability to get the job done. And, less than one year ago, Zinke went out of his way to help the company land a contract, proving that he’s got experience helping Whitefish Energy score contracts. Now, members of congress on both sides of the aisle are calling for an investigation into how Whitefish Energy received this contract, and now, the FBI has launched its own investigation.
Whitefish Energy’s connections go far deeper than its close ties to Zinke. HBC Investments, the private-equity firm that financed Whitefish Energy, was founded by Joe Colonnetta, who serves as its general partner. Federal campaign records show Colonnetta contributed more than $25,000 to Trump and his PAC, more than $50,000 to Rick Perry, and in 2016 alone, $30,700 to the Republican National Committee.
But Whitefish isn’t the only questionable firm to land a massive contract to do work in Puerto Rico. Cobra Acquisitions, which was founded just this year and is a subsidiary of Mammoth Energy, a large fracking company that happens to be based in Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt’s home state, received a $200 million contract to work on utility restoration. Cobra has never previously won a government contract, and is merely a subsidiary of a fracking firm, not one well-versed in repairs -- especially on the scale needed in Puerto Rico.
The actions -- or lack thereof -- from the Trump administration have either failed to aid the people of Puerto Rico or not been made in earnest. The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria is not something to be used to profit friends’ businesses, but that’s exactly what has happened here. Right now, Puerto Rico’s utility workers’ union continues to work around the clock to get people’s lights back online with a weather resilient grid powered by distributed solar. The Trump administration should be focused on empowering Puerto Ricans as they restore power to their homes rather than lining the pockets of companies with little to no records and potential ties to the administration.
Puerto Ricans, like all Americans, deserve answers as to how one of Trump and Perry’s significant contributors and a close contact of Zinke’s landed a $300 million contract their company wasn’t capable of fulfilling. Unfortunately, the White House does not want to answer the questions, so Congress must listen to the people demanding answers -- including nearly 30,000 Sierra Club members -- and act. American citizens have gone without power, without reliable access to clean water, without basic human dignities, and without answers for far too long.