New Mexico delegation: US labs can help rebuild Puerto Rico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Members of the state's congressional delegation are urging the Trump administration to tap the expertise of national laboratories in New Mexico to help with rebuilding efforts in Puerto Rico. They sent a letter Wednesday to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Elaine Duke, acting secretary of the Homeland Security Department. The letter says the expertise and resources at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories can be leveraged to ensure the U.S. territory is better positioned to prepare for and recover from future natural disasters. They pointed to programs that could evaluate Puerto Rico's electrical grid needs and other critical infrastructure. The territory was hit by back-to-back hurricanes. Much of the island remains without power, hundreds of thousands of people are without running water and nearly half of the island's 51 sewage treatment plants are still out of service.