U.S. LAWMAKERS PLEASED WITH PUERTO RICO GOVERNMENT’S NEW DIRECTION, STATES GOVERNOR

After a week spent meeting with various officials from the U.S. executive and legislative branches, Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced indicated that she believed federal lawmakers were “relieved and pleased with the new direction the [Puerto Rico] government has taken.”

“It has been exceedingly satisfying to be able to introduce myself to these important members of Congress, to be able to dialogue with them and to clear up questions,” said Vázquez Garced in a press release. “Some wanted to know what was necessary for Puerto Rico to rehabilitate itself, and about the need for funds. Along with agency chiefs, we managed to answer all their questions, and they expressed their satisfaction and commitment to working with Puerto Rico.”

Rep. José Serrano (D-NY), one of the lawmakers with whom Vázquez Garced met, indicated that he was at the governor’s disposal. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, who referred to Vázquez Garced as a “Republican governor,” indicated that he told her that the key to Puerto Rico’s economic future is a public policy of “collaboration and cooperation” with the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB). Rep. Darren Soto (D-NY) limited himself to stating that he and the governor mostly spoke about Medicaid and reconstruction funds, while a spokesperson for Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) called the conversation between her and the governor “honest and productive.”

 

Congressman Raúl Grijalva Spends Four Days in Puerto Rico

On Thursday, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) traveled to Puerto Rico for a weekend of meetings with individuals and groups.  

On Friday, the congressman met with a handful of mayors from both major parties in Loiza, and vowed to fight for a greater role for municipalities in the distribution and use of recovery funds. “If the federal government wants to move ahead with recovery, it has to use and depend on municipalities to do the job,” said Grijalva. The lawmaker also indicated that he hoped to amend PROMESA to declare pensions, healthcare, and education as essential services, thus granting them protection from the austerity measures proposed and supported by the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB).  

On Saturday, Grijalva travelled to Guayama, where he listened as residents and community organizations raised alarms about the pollution caused by the AES coal-burning power plant located in that municipality. He also travelled to Adjuntas, where he heard representatives of Puerto Rican nonprofits crticize the proposed appointment of a federal coordinator to oversee Puerto Rico’s recovery. On Sunday, the congressman visited Vieques, where he decried the slow recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria, as well as the lack of progress in the clean-up of the land once occupied by the U.S. Navy.  

On Monday, September 16, Rep. Grijalva met with Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced at La Fortaleza. He later declared to the press that the status issue is not a priority at the time and is not on the agenda of items to be addressed by his committee in Congress. Earlier that morning, he also met with the leadership of the Puerto Rican legislature. He also shared that the Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs, will hold a hearing on Puerto Rico on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.

 

HUD Seeks Financial Probe of Puerto Rico Housing Department 

Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, asked his department’s inspector general to open a probe into the Puerto Rico Housing Department before the local agency receives more than $8 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. “Due to the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Puerto Rico is on track to receive a historic level of federal disaster funding. Given the ongoing leadership changes within the Puerto Rican government, combined with continued concern over Puerto Rico’s history of fiscal irregularities and mismanagement, the Trump Administration refuses to write a blank check and requires strict oversight on the usage of taxpayer funds,” said a senior White House official. 

 

Cobra Contract Not Canceled, Says PREPA Chief

Although Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Executive Director José Ortiz previously claimed that he had cancelled the public corporation’s controversial $1.9 billion contract with Cobra Acquisitions LLC, he has since stated that it has not in fact been canceled, but that PREPA ceased requiring services from the company after March 31.

Ortiz also confirmed that PREPA would pay for the charged services, and would later be reimbursed by FEMA. However, as of March 31, PREPA had disbursed $1.1 billion to Cobra, with $180 million yet to be reimbursed, following FEMA’s decision to stop reimbursements. “[Cobra] has submitted further invoices, but I have them here and I will not process them because FEMA stopped the reimbursements. Consequently, we will stop the payments. This is a matter we have to discuss with FEMA these days,” he said, indicating that he would request a meeting in order to determine future steps.       

Last week, federal authorities arrested two former high-ranking FEMA officials working in Puerto Rico, as well as Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra. Since then, one of the two officials, Ahsha Nateef Tribble, has been charged with accepting bribes made by Ellison in exchange for favors to Cobra, including facilitating the awarding of government contracts.