On the Home Front

Federal Response Congress PR Reconstruction plan. The Puerto Rican government submitted a recovery plan to Congress on August 8 that estimated the cost for reconstruction at $139 billion. This estimate is almost twice as much as the island’s government reported in November. Governor Ricardo Rosselló stated that “all the initiatives have the purpose of making Continue reading

Federal Response HUD HUD has approved Puerto Rico’s plan for spending the $1.5 billion allocation from the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery to assist in long-term recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The grant includes $1 billion for housing, with $10 million earmarked for rental assistance for the elderly and other vulnerable households. Continue reading

Federal Response Congress Senators Warren (D-MA), Sanders (I-VT), Gillibrand (D-NY), Markey (D-MA), Harris (D-CA), and Representative Velazquez (D-NY) introduced The U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018 to terminate certain debt obligations for survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The bill provides territorial relief for debt, creates a PR debt restructuring compensation fund, and creates an Continue reading

Federal Response FEMA FEMA has released a report titled the “2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report.” The report details the response to hurricanes in 2017, including instances of FEMA’s being underprepared for the size and scope of these storms. The report also includes recommendations for disaster response moving forward. FEMA hosted four Partner Strategy Sessions—the Continue reading

Federal Response Congress Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) wrote a letter to Kathy Kraninger, Program Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), expressing concern over her role in the Trump administration’s response Continue reading