Jenniffer González-Colón

The people of Puerto Rico, the government of Puerto Rico, has done everything that has been asked by the Federal Government to access this funding in less than a year.

I think that the record attests to the fact.

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.

I think the first thing we should be looking at today is explaining the draft legislation to amend the Puerto Rico Oversight Board management, better known as PROMESA.

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

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?

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

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

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

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

We are still waiting for the grant agreement for $8.2 billion of critical funding.

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

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

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

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

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.

We are moving forward on nutrient reduction work.

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

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.

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 appreciate the opportunity to discuss some of the issues currently impacting the veteran population in Puerto Rico.

This is commonsense legislation that should be swiftly enacted.