WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s decision to impose conditions on $16 billion in disaster relief money for Puerto Rico’s cash-strapped government drew harsh criticism from congressional Democrats on Thursday.

Instead of sending the funds without strings attached, the disaster funds disbursed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development will receive additional scrutiny from Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Control Board, an appointed body responsible for restructuring Puerto Rico’s debt. Federal contractors doing disaster relief work can also be paid less than $15 per hour, despite an executive order signed by the governor of Puerto Rico in 2018 mandating a $15 per hour minimum wage for government contract work.

“It’s been almost 2 1/2 years since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, but the Trump administration continues delaying the disbursement of billions of dollars in disaster relief for Puerto Rico,” Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., said in a statement. “Rebuilding Puerto Rico cannot continue to be postponed due to bureaucratic inertia in Washington.”

Additional conditions include Puerto Rico creating a new system to register properties and deeds and the funds cannot be spent on the territory’s porous electrical grid, which took months to rebuild after Hurricane Maria.

The Trump administration said the conditions are necessary to combat corruption.

“In a great win for Puerto Ricans and U.S. taxpayers, the administration has outlined reforms for the grant agreement to Puerto Rico in order to protect resources,” Office of Management and Budget spokesperson Chase Jennings said in a statement.

On Wednesday, former Puerto Rico Education Secretary Julia Keleher was indicted on allegations she used school land for personal gain. Previously, in September 2019, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator was arrested after she was accused of taking bribes from the president of a company that landed $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s electric grid.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the top Democrat on the House Committee responsible for Puerto Rico oversight, blasted the conditions for disaster aid.

“If the president neglected recovery efforts on the mainland as badly as he’s done in Puerto Rico, we’d be talking about another Hurricane Katrina,” Grijalva said.