NYC Gazette

Velázquez Introduces Bill to Help Make Federal Funding More Accessible for Puerto Rico 

Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the Report on Grant Consolidation Authority for Puerto Rico Act, which requires a study on the suitability of grant consolidation for Puerto Rico’s overburdened public sector. Title V of Public Law 95-134 authorized Federal agencies to consolidate grants to U.S. Insular Areas to minimize the administrative and financial burdens associated with acquiring federal assistance. Yet, Puerto Rico was excluded from this statute. 

“Puerto Rico faces numerous inequities because of its territorial status,” said Congresswoman Velázquez. “For over 40 years the island has been excluded from grant consolidation which every other U.S. Insular Area has had access to. This bill represents an opportunity for Congress to help make federal funding more accessible for Puerto Rico, and further support the island’s recovery from compounding disasters.” The Report on Grant Consolidation Authority for Puerto Rico Act will:

1. Recognize that the imposition of new fiscal requirements by Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board (‘‘FOMB’’) and the aftermath of multiple disasters have exerted a great burden on the public sector in Puerto Rico,
2. Require the Comptroller General to study the suitability of grant consolidation to minimize such burden and maximize the available public resources to access Federal funding, and 
3. Direct the Comptroller General to list any programs that should be eligible for consolidation in the case of Puerto Rico.

This bill is also cosponsored by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY). 

For a copy of the bill, click here.

Original source can be found here.