(Credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images)
(CNN Spanish) -
The authorities of the United States and Puerto Rico approved the use of US $ 6.2 billion in funds from the Community Development with Mitigation Subsidy (CDBG-MIT) program of Puerto Rico as part of two partial approvals of the Action Plan presented by the government of the island.
This was announced by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD, for its acronym in English) and the Puerto Rico Department of Housing.
"HUD and the Biden Administration are committed to working with Puerto Rico to restart our relationship with the island's recovery efforts," said Arthur Jemison, Deputy Chief Assistant Secretary for HUD's Office of Urban Planning and Development.
On January 20, the US Department of Housing, under the previous administration, issued a partial approval of the Puerto Rico Action Plan for about US $ 4.9 billion.
This approval imposed conditions on Puerto Rico's CDBG-MIT funds.
With the new administration of President Joe Biden, HUD and the island's Department of Housing accelerated access to the promised reconstruction and resilience funds.
On February 1, HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) approved new elements of the plan, granting access to more CDBG-MIT funds.
Specifically, HUD's action gives the Puerto Rico Department of Housing access to an additional $ 1.3 billion, for a total of $ 6.2 billion under its Action Plan.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi and Secretary of the Department of Housing William Rodríguez confirmed the allocation of funds to the island from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to the government, the funds will be used for infrastructure improvement, planning and economic development projects.
The island government reported that the next step after approval will be the drafting of an agreement between HUD and the Department of Housing to access the funds.
Once the agreement is signed, the Department of Housing will be able to begin accessing the funds from the newly approved allocation.
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“I appreciate the speed with which the administration of President Joe Biden has worked to expedite the disbursement of this money.
We will take advantage of every dollar to improve our infrastructure and the quality of life of all Puerto Ricans, ”said Pierluisi.
Likewise, Rodríguez added that "we receive with satisfaction and responsibility this new assignment that will allow us to continue the plans so that our infrastructure can be more resistant to future natural disasters."
On the other hand, HUD currently confirmed that it is working to remove the conditions imposed on the more than US $ 20,000 million in CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT funds allocated to Puerto Rico, in order to release these funds and align the relationship in a similar way to other jurisdictions.
Joe Biden's government has indicated that it is working to release aid related to the climate disaster and change the terms of aid sent to Puerto Rico, especially due to the ravages of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Recovery
