Darren Soto and Ritchie Torres ask Joe Biden to speed up an order for a quick disbursement of funds for Puerto Rico

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Washington dc– The boricuas democratic congressmen Darren Soto i Ritchie Torres they have asked the president today Joe Biden to speed up its promise to order a speedy disbursement of pledged funds in Puerto Rico to mitigate the damage caused by hurricane Maria.

As of mid-week, Biden is expected to sign an order for U.S. government offices, such as the Federal Department of Housing (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to facilitate the delivery of funds to the Government of Puerto Rico.

“We believe an executive order or other executive action is the best option to address these concerns. As you know, Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the entire island of Puerto Rico more than three years ago.”, Have indicated Soto and Torres, in a letter sent today to President Biden.

In his plan for Puerto Rico, as a presidential candidate, Biden promised to immediately order the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and all federal agencies involved in the reconstruction of Puerto Rico “working closely with Puerto Rico and municipal governments to ensure that federal funds are deployed efficiently, effectively and in full compliance with relevant laws and regulations.”

“They also urge HUD to remove the onerous restrictions exclusive to Puerto Rico that limit its access to funds” from the community development program (CDBG-DR), the campaign plan said.

Although Puerto Rico has been promised over $ 67 billion to mitigate most of the damage caused by Hurricane Maria and rebuild the island, disbursements are around a third of the allocations. “The people of Puerto Rico have long waited for the release of these funds,” said Soto and Torres, elected by districts in Florida and New York, respectively.

In an interview on Thursday, Puerto Rican Democratic Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (New York) said the White House “is aware of the commitments made by Joe Biden,” including an order to quickly disburse funds, revive an interagency working group on the Island and promote parity in programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and food assistance.

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