The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is awarding in hurricane aid $1.5 billion to Puerto Rico. As you know, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The money comes from the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program.
“President Trump and the entire HUD family stand with our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico to help them recover from these devastating hurricanes,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “These recovery funds will help repair damaged homes and businesses. As local leaders, along with their citizens, develop their recovery plans, HUD will reduce regulatory barriers and remove any unnecessary roadblocks to speed long-term recovery.”
A HUD analysis found that thousands of middle and lower income homeowners and renters had “serious damage to their residences” but were not insured. This hurricane aid will help them. The aid will also help businesses with serious damage not covered by insurance or other resources adequately.
Governor Ricardo Rosselló is thankful for the hurricane aid.
“On behalf of the many thousands of survivors here in Puerto Rico, I want to express our appreciation to the Administration and HUD for recognizing the tremendous needs that remain in so many of our neighborhoods. This grant will make a huge difference in repairing damaged homes and businesses and facilitating the social and economic recovery here in the island.”
Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón added, “The $1.5 billion in CDBG-DR funding that we are announcing originates from the first Continuing Resolution (CR) that we advocated for and approved in Congress last September, out of a total of $7.4 billion that was assigned to HUD to assist in the aftermath of natural disasters. Today’s announcement is just another example of our ongoing efforts in Congress to allocate federal funding that helps mitigate the hurricanes’ disastrous effects and consequences.”
