The strongest criticism to PROMESA has been that it did not provide for economic development.

What is the delay and how can we overcome the delay for signing a public partnership agreement?

Our Governor's vision for a successful recovery relies on the synergies that the COR3 and the Puerto Rico Department of Housing can create.

Congress has provided almost $20 billion in CDBG-DR funding.

the publication of the guidelines in the Federal Register is not being done in time.

the first tranche of funds from HUD was approved and disbursed to the island. It was $1.5 billion.

The only real and permanent solution to the fiscal problems of Puerto Rico before this Committee today is statehood.

So if you don't have that plan approved or signed by the HUD administration, what are the programs, what are the services that are put on hold on the island, one, two, three?

having the funds being approved, not disbursed, has created the biggest hardship for many Puerto Ricans on the island.

The notion that we are spending $1.5 billion slowly is simply inaccurate.

Unfortunately, we have only begun access to that initial $1.5 billion.

HUD has been sitting on $8 billion in grant agreements since May. How can we complain, and how can the Federal agencies complain that we are not efficiently using the funds, when the money is not even in the island?

Again, we haven't received the publication in the Federal Register for the next tranche of funds.

One thing is, Congress and the President signed a law approving $49 billion, approximately, to the island.

How can we receive the funds that have been already appropriated by Congress and by the President?

I once again thank for all her work, funds were appropriated, granting Puerto Rico the resources it needed to recover itself from the devastation.

Congress must act before September 30, 2019, to avert catastrophic damage to our healthcare system and the health and well-being of the people of Puerto Rico.

I think this is a great opportunity to have the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Natural Resources Committee jointly doing a hearing about a very important issue for the United States security.

the first-ever trade agreement from the U.S. that incorporates environmental provisions into the trade agreement itself.

It's hard to overstate the importance of this critical resource to northeast Ohio.

We are moving forward on nutrient reduction work.

It is time for Congress to act to provide the VA with the same reimbursement authority for urban Indian health centers that already exists for the Indian Health Service, tribes, and tribal organizations.

I would like to continue working with the Committee to ensure it maintains construction work at a steady pace so that these clinics are ready to receive veteran patients as soon as possible.

This is commonsense legislation that should be swiftly enacted.

I would urge the Committee to encourage the VA to work with the Indian Health Service to provide greater access to culturally appropriate services for Native American Veterans that UIOs are in a unique position to provide.