Governor Rosselló meets with the deputy secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

(June 12, 2018 - La Fortaleza, San Juan) Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló met yesterday with the deputy secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Pamela Hughes Patenaude, to discuss the plans that the local Government must present for the use of the federal funds assigned to the Island.

"The deputy secretary has expressed optimism with our work to date. We are confident that we will make good use of the available funds for the recovery process," said Governor Rosselló.

Rosselló also added that "the work of Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González has been key in this planning and execution effort. We appreciate her work and incessant search for funds that contribute to rebuilding a more resilient Puerto Rico."

“We are committed to standing with the people of Puerto Rico as we work together to ensure communities emerge safer, stronger, and more resilient,” said Deputy Secretary Pamela Patenaude.

In April of this year, HUD announced the allocation of $18.5 billion for Puerto Rico from the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) after Hurricane Maria, with the purpose of defraying the repair of damages to homes, businesses, and the electrical network.

This amount was added to the $1.5 billion that HUD allocated for the Island in February and for a total of $20 billion for which the Rosselló Administration had to submit a Plan of Action.

The Government of Puerto Rico has developed the Plan and will be formally submitting this plan to HUD in the near future. In addition, the Rosselló Administration has been submitting weekly reports to HUD.

The Plan of Action was worked in a rigorous and comprehensive way to meet all needs regarding housing, economic development, infrastructure, and planning on the Island.

As Deputy Secretary Patenaude has previously explained, the Plan to use the funds is the exclusive task of the Government of Puerto Rico, in accordance with the needs of the Island; The federal Government will serve as an advisor in the process.

CDBG-DR grants support a variety of disaster recovery activities; this includes housing renovation and reconstruction, business assistance, economic revitalization, and infrastructure repair. Beneficiaries should use the majority of these recovery funds in the areas identified by HUD that had the greatest impact.

Also present during the meeting were the secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDH), Fernando Gil; the executive director of the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience (COR3), Omar Marrero; and the executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington (PRFAA), Carlos Mercader.