Federal relief announced in Florida today by Pres. Joe Biden during his trip to assess Hurricane Ian’s damage stands in stark contrast to that allotted to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, which blacked out the entire island nearly three weeks ago.

Relief efforts in Puerto Rico are lagging by other measures, as well. In central Florida, 95% of homes still without electricity after Ian hit last week are expected to get power restored by Friday. In Puerto Rico, it’s taken nearly three weeks to restore power for 95% of people in some areas, while others still remain in the dark.

And the amount of federal funding relief being allocated to Florida and Puerto Rico differs by billions of dollars. There are also disparities in the amount of time allotted for aiding clean-up efforts.

And while even his political adversary, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), thanked Biden today, Puerto Rico continues to struggle with systemic burdens Biden has not addressed.

The island territory is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, which wiped out the power grid. Federal aid to deal with it was held up by the Trump administration. (White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Piere said earlier the restrictions would be removed to let Puerto Rico access that $5 billion in disaster recovery funds.)

The burdens felt by Puerto Rico involve a number of issues where the federal government has been involved, not always to the island’s benefit. Those include its troubled electrical system and a costly federal law.

Notably, during his Puerto Rico visit Monday, Biden didn’t even mention that law, known as the Jones Act. The law requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flagged ships, making virtually everything more expensive there.

Today, the White House listed $5.2 billion in Florida funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in a Hurricane Ian fact-sheet about relief efforts. That’s compared to just over $2 billion given to Puerto Rico, as mentioned by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

And Biden doubled the time for federal clean-up assistance in Florida from 30 to 60 days. He mentioned today that DeSantis would probably need an extension on that timeline.

By contrast, after Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi reportedly asked the federal government to pay for 180 days of debris removal. Biden said Monday, “I'm confident we're going to be able to do all you want, Governor,” but only committed to 30 days.

One step the administration did take for Puerto Rico was to waive the Jones Act temporarily. For days, a British Petroleum ship had waited offshore to deliver diesel fuel needed to power the island’s generators.

But Puerto Rico’s recovery will be hampered by high costs once again after the Jones Act waiver ends. A 2019 analysis concluded that the higher shipping costs amount to a de facto tax of about 7.2%, adding roughly $367 million annually just to the cost of food and beverages. Neither Biden nor Congress have taken steps to undo the Jones Act.

Those issues and others, coupled with Puerto Rico’s history as an afterthought compared to the U.S. mainland, continue to drive skepticism that its people will actually get all the help they need.

Mónica Feliú-Mójer, director of communications and science outreach for the nonprofit Ciencia Puerto Rico, told Politico last week, “We need to continue having public pressure and accountability because the next five years are going to be critical for the recovery and the reconstruction efforts.”

Last month, some members of Congress wrote to the now-privatized energy utility, LUMA, complaining about electric bills. They said that Puerto Rican customers spend about 8% of their income on energy costs, compared to 2.4% on the mainland.

As reported by Politico, island residents are calling for LUMA’s contract to be canceled, and the Jones Act repealed. They’re also insisting that FEMA prioritize the funding of local renewable energy projects. And they want the federally appointed board which oversees the territory’s finances dissolved.

Biden did not address any of these issues in his remarks this week.

TYT Washington Correspondent Candice Cole was previously a correspondent and senior White House producer for the Black News Channel and has worked at a number of local news outlets. You can find her on Twitter @CandiceColeNews.