New York, NY  – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) led a bicameral letter calling on the Biden Administration to establish a Recovery Task Force for Puerto Rico. The task force would be modeled after the successful Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force created by the Obama Administration in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The Puerto Rico Recovery Task Force’s goal would be to provide a roadmap for the island’s long-term recovery and ensure greater interagency cooperation. Five years after Hurricane Maria and as the island continues to deal with the devastating impacts of Hurricane Fiona, the Senators and Representatives are also urging the Biden Administration to continue to expeditiously send resources and increase coordination to ensure Puerto Rico’s swift, equitable, and full recovery.

“In this stage of the recovery, federal efforts must focus on addressing coordination challenges and facilitating the effective disbursement of funds rather than creating additional obstacles. To that end, we request the creation of a Recovery Task Force and at minimum the coordination of all relevant federal agencies as well as engagement with a broad coalition of local stakeholders in planning the recovery—including Puerto Rico’s central government, municipalities, non-profits, academic, and the private and civic sectors,” said Schumer, Velázquez, and others in their letter to President Biden.

Though Congress has allocated $80 billion for the island’s recovery, persistent bottlenecks have complicated the disbursement of federal disaster funding. Many of the delays can be attributed to the Trump Administration’s inaction and delay in releasing recovery funding. According to the Center for a New Economy, a local think tank, the post-Maria recovery has suffered from a systemic lack of coordination: among federal agencies, between federal agencies and their local counterparts, and between federal and state agencies on one side and municipalities on the other. The Fiscal Oversight and Management Board’s (FOMB) ongoing austerity policies have also hobbled the ability of local governments to respond to crises and prepare for future climate impacts. While the Biden Administration has taken steps to remove unnecessary barriers to federal disaster funding and taken actions to advance the recovery and rebuilding effort, Schumer, Velázquez, and other congressional leaders believe a Recovery Task Force is still needed to provide a long-term outlook that will support Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable populations.

After Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, Leader Schumer joined the Hispanic Federation and colleagues in a press conference at the Capitol where he called out the conflict between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the private energy company LUMA, which has been a barrier in the efforts to build a much-needed resilient electric grid. The Leader also signed onto a bicameral letter pushing the Biden Administration to issue a major disaster declaration for the island, as well as letters requesting a 100% federal cost-share for public assistance and an extension of the original 30-day 100% federal cost-share granted for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

“After five years of bottlenecks, the Biden Administration must continue to act with urgency to establish the necessary mechanisms for a comprehensive, effective, and forward-looking recovery for Puerto Rico. We believe an increased interagency coordination and oversight are crucial first steps for ensuring a better, more resilient future for the island and we look forward to working together with your Administration,” concluded the Senators and Representatives.

The letter was signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Representatives Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Darren E. Soto (D-FL), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY).

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear President Biden,

Puerto Rico has been reeling from the impact of Hurricane Fiona since September 18. The hurricane caused massive floods, compromised the island’s energy grid, and left hundreds of thousands without access to potable water. The aftermath of the storm has demonstrated that, five years after Hurricane María, Puerto Rico remains unacceptably vulnerable to natural disasters. Considering this continued vulnerability, we urge you to focus resources on Puerto Rico’s long term recovery and ensure interagency coordination similar to what was seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy manifested in the creation of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force.

The catastrophic impact of the recent hurricane cannot be separated from the challenges that Puerto Rico has faced in the last five years. Though Congress has allocated $80 billion for the island’s recovery, persistent bottlenecks have complicated the disbursement of federal disaster funding. Many of the delays can be attributed to the Trump Administration’s inaction and delay in releasing recovery funding. According to local think tank Center for a New Economy, the post-Maria recovery has suffered from a systemic lack of coordination: among federal agencies, between federal agencies and their local counterparts, and between federal and state agencies on one side and municipalities on the other[1]. The Fiscal Oversight and Management Board’s (FOMB) ongoing austerity policies have also hobbled the ability of local governments to respond to crises and prepare for future climate impacts. We appreciate the steps your Administration has taken to remove unnecessary barriers to federal disaster funding since taking office and the President’s recent actions to advance the recovery and rebuilding effort. However, we believe additional coordination is necessary to ensure Puerto Rico’s swift, equitable, and full recovery.  

In this stage of the recovery, federal efforts must focus on addressing coordination challenges and facilitating the effective disbursement of funds rather than creating additional obstacles. To that end, we request the creation of a Puerto Rico Recovery Task Force and at minimum the coordination of all relevant federal agencies as well as engagement with a broad coalition of local stakeholders in planning the recovery—including Puerto Rico’s central government, municipalities, non-profits, academic, and the private and civic sectors.

The Puerto Rico Recovery Task Force and your Administration’s recovery efforts can draw from the successes of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, established by President Obama via executive order in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.[2] The Sandy Task Force represented a whole-of-government approach to that recovery process—chaired by then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, it included members from 23 different executive branch agencies and White House Offices. The Sandy Task Force produced a series of recommendations, ranging from improving internal federal government procedures to addressing local vulnerabilities to climate shocks, which prioritized mitigation and resilience in the face of future disasters. It also leveraged resources from HUD, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other agencies to offer state and local governments technical guidance and flexibility in the development of disaster recovery plans.

Civil society actors have praised the Sandy Rebuilding Task Force as an effective approach to achieving a resilient recovery. The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program celebrated it as an “unprecedented commitment to coordination across federal agencies and collaboration between the federal, state and local governments and key local constituencies.” Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, commended the Task Force for establishing “a resilience strategy that prioritizes cutting red tape, improved coordination, smart technology and innovative solutions.” [3]

In this spirit, The Puerto Rico Recovery Task Force can meet the Administration’s goals by:

1. Providing a high-level forum for interagency coordination to ensure the proper sequencing and timely funding of disaster recovery programs;
2. Engaging in collaborative planning efforts that take local knowledge and community expertise into account; and
3. Leveraging the resources of multiple agencies to provide technical support and build local capacity to meet the challenges inherent in Puerto Rico’s recovery.

Crucially, all actions taken by your Administration must operate with a long-term outlook to support Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable populations. Hurricane Fiona has shown that natural disasters disproportionately impact rural and poor communities—their needs must be heard, understood, and centered across all initiatives if Puerto Rico is to achieve a just recovery. 

After five years of bottlenecks, the Biden Administration must continue to act with urgency to establish the necessary mechanisms for a comprehensive, effective, and forward-looking recovery for Puerto Rico. We believe an increased interagency coordination and oversight are crucial first steps for ensuring a better, more resilient future for the island and we look forward to working together with your Administration.

Schumer y Velázquez Piden a la Administración de Biden que Establezca un Grupo de Trabajo para la Recuperación de Puerto Rico 

El Grupo de Trabajo de Recuperación se enfocaría en proporcionar una guía para la recuperación a largo plazo de Puerto Rico y garantizar la cooperación entre agencias

Nueva York, NY – El líder de la mayoría del Senado, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), y la congresista Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), encabezaron una carta bicameral en la que piden a la administración del presidente Joe Biden que establezca un Grupo de Trabajo para la Recuperación de Puerto Rico. El grupo de trabajo seguiría el modelo del exitoso Grupo de Trabajo de Reconstrucción del Huracán Sandy creado por el gobierno del expresidente Barack Obama después del huracán Sandy. El objetivo del Grupo de Trabajo para la Recuperación de Puerto Rico sería proporcionar una guía para la recuperación a largo plazo de la isla y garantizar una mayor cooperación entre agencias. Cinco años después del huracán María y mientras la isla continúa lidiando con los devastadores impactos del huracán Fiona, los senadores y representantes también instan al gobierno de Biden a continuar enviando recursos de manera expedita y aumentando la coordinación para garantizar la recuperación rápida, equitativa y completa de Puerto Rico.

“En esta etapa de la recuperación, los esfuerzos federales deben enfocarse en abordar los desafíos de coordinación y facilitar el gasto de fondos en lugar de crear obstáculos adicionales. Con ese fin, solicitamos la creación de un Grupo de Trabajo de Recuperación y, como mínimo, la coordinación de todas las agencias federales relevantes, así como participación con una amplia coalición de partes interesadas locales en la recuperación de la isla, incluido el gobierno central de Puerto Rico, municipios, organizaciones sin fines de lucro, espacios académicos y los sectores cívico y privado”, dijeron Schumer, Velázquez y otros en su carta al presidente Biden.

Aunque el Congreso ha asignado $80 mil millones para la recuperación de la isla, hay obstáculos persistentes que han complicado el desembolso de fondos federales para desastres. Muchos de los retrasos se pueden atribuir a la inacción y el retraso del gobierno de Trump en la liberación de fondos de recuperación. Según el Centro Para la Nueva Economía, un grupo de expertos local, la recuperación posterior al huracán María ha sufrido una falta de coordinación sistémica entre agencias federales, locales y municipales. Las políticas de austeridad en curso de la Junta de Supervisión y Administración Fiscal (FOMB, por sus siglas en inglés) también han obstaculizado la capacidad de los gobiernos locales para responder a las crisis y prepararse para futuros impactos climáticos. Si bien la administración de Biden ha tomado medidas para eliminar las barreras innecesarias en la financiación federal para desastres y ha tomado medidas para avanzar en el esfuerzo de recuperación y reconstrucción, Schumer, Velázquez y otros líderes del Congreso creen que todavía se necesita un Grupo de Trabajo de Recuperación para brindar una perspectiva a largo plazo que apoyará a las poblaciones más vulnerables de Puerto Rico.

Luego de que el huracán Fiona azotara Puerto Rico, el líder Schumer estuvo junto a la Federación Hispana y colegas en una conferencia de prensa en el Capitolio donde denunció el conflicto entre la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (PREPA, por sus siglas en inglés) y la compañía de energía privada LUMA, el cual ha sido una barrera en los esfuerzos por construir una red eléctrica resiliente que es muy necesaria. Schumer también firmó una carta bicameral que instaba al gobierno de Biden a emitir una declaración de desastre mayor para la isla, así como cartas que solicitaban un costo compartido federal del 100 por ciento para la asistencia pública y una extensión del costo federal original del 100 por ciento de 30 días para remoción de escombros y medidas de protección de emergencia.

“Después de cinco años de obstáculos, la administración de Biden debe continuar actuando con urgencia para establecer los mecanismos necesarios para una recuperación integral, efectiva y con visión de futuro para Puerto Rico. Creemos que una mayor coordinación y supervisión interinstitucional son los primeros pasos cruciales para garantizar un futuro mejor y más resistente para la isla, y esperamos trabajar junto con su gobierno”, concluyeron los senadores y representantes.

La carta fue firmada por el líder de la mayoría del Senado, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), la representante Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) y los senadores Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ) y Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), así como los representantes Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Darren E. Soto (D-FL) y Ritchie Torres (D-NY).

El texto completo de la carta en inglés se puede encontrar aquí.

###