Jan. 23, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Power 4 Puerto Rico Coalition reiterated its call for Puerto Rico’s debt to be discharged, and for billions in reserve funds meant to pay down the island’s debt to instead be used to rebuild homes and provide shelter for tens of thousands of earthquake and hurricane victims whose homes and communities were destroyed by a series of natural disasters starting in 2017. The diaspora based coalition also called on the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB or the “Junta”) imposed by Congress on the island to authorize the use of billions of dollars it forced the Commonwealth to set aside to pay down Puerto Rico’s public debts to help the victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the recent earthquakes that have rocked the island.
Labor leaders and international artists have called on a renewal of the historic protests that led to the ouster of former Governor Ricardo Rosselló starting today at 5pm (Puerto Rico time) in front of the island’s Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion at La Fortaleza, after news reports revealed that while thousands of Puerto Ricans have been sleeping in open air tents resulting from the recent earthquakes, the government had been hiding warehouses full of supplies that were not delivered to the victims.
The Power 4 Puerto Rico coalition once again stands in solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico to denounce the situation and call on the island government to do its job and help the people, and for the Trump Administration and the Fiscal Control Board to stop their vendetta against Puerto Ricans.
“For months, our coalition has been calling on Congress to pass the Territorial Relief Act, which would allow Puerto Rico to voluntarily discharge its public debts, while compensating regular retail investors to recuperate some of their life savings, which were lost during the island’s financial collapse. This legislation, sponsored by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, and Senators Warren and Sanders, would go a long way in making sure we put disaster victims, not Wall Street financiers, at the forefront of Puerto Rico policy,” said Power 4 Puerto Rico Director Erica González. “While we wait for Congress to pass this bill and for the Trump administration to do its job, we also call on the Government of Puerto Rico to use currently available funding today to help hurricane and earthquake victims to get back on their feet.”
The Power 4 Puerto Rico coalition also reminded the public that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has focused on illegally delaying delivery of $18 billion Congress approved under the Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR). HUD recently published a notice in the Federal Register imposing strict requirements for the use of the money, including empowering the unelected Junta, that are obviously meant to delay the funds that it is legally required to send to Puerto Rico, and not its purported intention of “safeguarding federal taxpayers.”
“While this situation is unacceptable and the coalition has mobilized nationwide to protest against the illegal behavior of the Trump administration, it is equally if not more dismaying that the Government of Puerto Rico has only utilized $10.8 million out of $1.5 billion in CDBG-DR money HUD authorized in February 2019. Puerto Ricans should not have to beg Donald Trump for money while the island is sitting on 3 separate accounts of funding that should be used today to help the people,” said Power 4 Puerto Rico Senior Advisor Federico de Jesús. “The Commonwealth has $1.48 billion in CDBG-DR funds, it has $8.7 billion in a reserve fund to pay down the public debt, and more than $16 billion in other accounts available to get the thousands of earthquake victims into housing and shelters. The money should also be used to help the 30,000 families that are still living under blue tarps two and a half years after the deadliest hurricane in modern US history. This is unacceptable and Congress should make sure the Junta does not keep getting in the way of the recovery. Instead of imposing crippling austerity to pay Wall Street, the FOMB needs to help the people of Puerto Rico. Period. End of story.”
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