Letter to President Joe Biden - Soto, Torres Urge Biden to Release Relief Funds to Puerto Rico

Letter

Dear President Biden,
We write to address expediting the release of federal funds to help Puerto Rico recover from the
effects of multiple natural disasters. 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 over three years ago. Unfortunately, the hurricanes' effects have
been exacerbated by a series of earthquake clusters which have further damaged the island's
infrastructure and created critical deficiencies in Puerto Rico's energy sector. Now, as their
fragile healthcare system grapples with COVID-19, it is more important than ever that we get
these American citizens the help they need.
At more than $100 billion of damages, Hurricane Maria was the third most costly hurricane in
U.S. history. Unfortunately, the consequences of the widespread damage from the storm remain
unresolved to this day. Multiple businesses have closed permanently, and lives continue to be on
hold until reconstruction can be completed. As you are aware, Congress allocated around $42.5
billion in federal funds for the island´s recovery and reconstruction.
1 However, a majority of
these funds have been critically delayed for over three years, including to Community
Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) and other federally funded projects.
The people of Puerto Rico have long awaited the release of these funds. Therefore, we believe it
important to expedite the release of federal funds to help Puerto Rico recover from the effects of
multiple natural disasters and believe an Executive Order or other executive action is the best
option to address these concerns. We look forward to working with you for the benefit of the
people of Puerto Rico.

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