The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced its approval of Puerto Rico’s latest disaster recovery action plan to help the island continue to rebuild from Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
The plan includes incorporating more than $8.2 billion in additional Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. The first action plan in February 2018 allocated $1.5 billion and focused primarily on housing programs.
HUD’s approval of the latest action plan makes Puerto Rico eligible for congressionally appropriated disaster relief funds, which will be awarded through HUD grant programs.
“This is an unprecedented investment, and since Puerto Rico has a history of fiscal malfeasance, we are putting additional financial controls in place to ensure this disaster recovery money is spent properly,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. “With stringent HUD oversight, these dollars should have a real, lasting impact on Puerto Rico and help our fellow citizens who are struggling to recover from these devastating storms.”
As a result of what HUD said were the administration’s serious concerns over Puerto Rico’s past fiscal irregularities, HUD said it will impose strict conditions and financial controls on the use of the funds. This heightened scrutiny will include enhanced monitoring of expenditures and other measures designed to ensure Puerto Rico’s legal and prudent use of the funds, Carson added.
The plan defines how Puerto Rico will address the urgent humanitarian needs of island residents while also implementing how best to rebuild and stimulate economic growth.
“This action plan is based on a thoughtful, coordinated approach as the next step in the rebirth of the island,” according to the document’s executive summary. “The true impact of these hurricanes will not be known for generations. As humanitarian aid continues and structural rebuilding increases, delivering a truly resilient recovery will take time and significant resources.”
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