General Updates State of the Union. Last night, President Trump gave his first State of the Union Address. Several members of Congress tried to highlight Puerto Rico’s continuing struggle with recovery by bringing Hurricane Maria survivors as their guests. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) brought Omar Miguel Nieves Delgado, a 33-year-old dancer who left San Juan Continue reading

CONGRESS Need for Direct Lease Program. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter on January 25 to Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Roselló advising him to request participation in FEMA’s Direct Lease program. FEMA uses the Direct Lease program to provide temporary housing by encouraging landlords to participate in the program, then paying for rent and Continue reading

General Updates Updated Deadlines. NLIHC has compiled this list of known upcoming deadlines related to disaster recovery.  Some of these are coming up soon, including Feb. 10th for Florida’s TSA.  IRS EITC Eligibility. The IRS is urging survivors of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria to see if they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit Continue reading

General Delayed Loans for PR. FEMA and the U.S. Treasury Department are temporarily withholding a billion-dollar emergency loan to help Puerto Rico with disaster recovery efforts. The loan was approved by Congress several months ago, but officials from FEMA and Treasury issued a letter on January 8 stating that the island’s central cash balance did Continue reading

Congress Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) sent a letter on December 22, 2017 to HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, urging them to extend the foreclosure moratorium an additional year for victims of Hurricane Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The senators Continue reading