Stateside Puerto Ricans demand answers on unused hurricane aid to Puerto Rico

[Judi Lynn]

The Puerto Rican government has only spent $15.2 million of the $1.5 billion available to the island in block grant funds from HUD.



Residents sit on a couch outside their destroyed home in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 26, 2017.Gerald Herbert / AP file

March 10, 2020, 3:37 PM CDT / Updated March 10, 2020, 5:55 PM CDT
By Nicole Acevedo

A coalition of stateside Puerto Rican organizations is asking for answers from Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez as to why the U.S. territory has been slow in spending disbursed federal disaster funds allocated after Hurricane Maria for recovery and reconstruction.

The federal government has allocated nearly $20 billion through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program, or CDBG-DR, at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — one of the main agencies in charge of disaster recovery, alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Only about $1.5 billion in CDBG-DR funds have been disbursed to the island for hurricane recovery efforts such as rebuilding tens of thousands of homes with damaged roofs, many of which are still covered with blue tarps, according to data from FEMA's Recovery Support Function Leadership Group.

The Puerto Rican government has spent $15.2 million of the $1.5 billion available to the island in CDBG-DR funds since February 2019.

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/stateside-puerto-ricans-demand-answers-unused-hurricane-aid-puerto-rico-n1154236

[Under The Radar]

1. This should be a major issue with Florida voters this fall

now is the time to scream the loudest, get Biden to run on funding it on day one.....

[dhill926]

2. yes indeed...