Ponce, February 26, 2024 – The Biden-Harris Administration has made unprecedented levels of federal funding available to Puerto Rico for resilience, recovery, infrastructure, and economic growth. This has created a historic opportunity for Puerto Rico to make transformative change on the island.
U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary and Puerto Rico Economic Growth Coordinator Don Graves convened a meeting of Puerto Rico's southern municipalities and three multi-agency funded collaborations connected in the economic growth and recovery mission. The three collaborative initiatives, under the auspices of HUD, EDA and USDA, share a common impact area in the southern part of Puerto Rico.
USDA State Director of Rural Development for Puerto Rico, Maximiliano J. Trujillo-Ortega stated that the Biden-Harris administration and USDA continue their efforts to improve that quality of life of Rural Areas in Puerto Rico and thanks Undersecretary Graves for the invitation to attend and RPN's senior staff to discuss current efforts in the southern region. "This is a great gathering of economic development initiatives that promotes collaboration between federal agencies, local government, and communities. The three entities reflect a comprehensive partnership approach to economic development: rebuilding the housing stock, improving rural infrastructure, and promoting business growth. All three elements, with community input and participation, are essential for the sustainable economic development of Puerto Rico's rural areas and economic growth.”
State Director Trujillo-Ortega informed the municipalities and attendees of this first summit of the collaboration between SPREDD, CONSUR and RPN, since USDA Rural Development has funds available for the Hurricane Fiona disaster, the program can offer up to 100% cost subsidy and for community facilities, eligible entities can receive up to 75%.
Brief description of the three initiatives:
SPREDD
The Southern Puerto Rico Economic Development District, SPREDD, designated by the Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA), is the first regional Economic Development District (EDD) in Puerto Rico.
This designation creates a new local-federal partnership to support entrepreneurs, mobilize new resources, and plan for economic growth. A variety of industries will be supported in their economic development efforts, including healthcare, hospitality, and agriculture.
CONSUR
The Puerto Rico Department of Housing signed an agreement with mayors representing six southern towns affected by the 2020 earthquakes to allow the use of $36.4 million in Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) funds for long-term disaster recovery.
The Puerto Rico Department of Housing (DV) will be the state administrator of these funds, and as a federal requirement, an Action Plan was developed to address the needs of these municipalities. The Southern Consortium for the Management and Administration of Federal Funds for Earthquake Damage (CONSUR) will be the administrator of the Program in direct coordination with the mayors of the municipalities that will receive the assistance.
RPN
The Rural Partners Network is a government-wide program that helps rural communities find the resources and funds to create jobs, build infrastructure, and support long-term economic stability on their own terms. RPN helps establish community networks in rural areas where local leaders and residents collaborate with civic and business organizations, nonprofits, service providers, development agencies, and others to create new opportunities and tap into a region's diverse population and perspectives.
Para más información: https://www.rural.gov/programs , https://www.rural.gov/community-networks/pr & https://www.rd.usda.gov/pr .
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements, business development, housing, community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care, and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/pr.
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