Democratic Congresswomen Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed amendments to the Defense Authorization Act to request reports on the increase in US military operations in Puerto Rico. Velázquez's amendment, co-sponsored by Ocasio-Cortez and others, would require a report from the Pentagon on military exercises and cleanup efforts in Vieques.
Velázquez expressed concern over reports of authorization for military personnel to destroy unusable ammunition in Vieques, where the federal government still needs to decontaminate and clean up land after six decades of bombings and training led by the US Navy. The Congress has allocated over $327 million for the cleanup of Vieques, but residents are still waiting for the land and water to be restored.
Ocasio-Cortez also presented an amendment, along with Velázquez and others, that would require the Department of Defense to publish a report on the use of any military facility in Puerto Rico within 90 days and make non-classified sections of the information available for public consultation. The US Marine Corps has used military facilities in Puerto Rico for operations in the Caribbean, including the military intervention in Venezuela.