Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) applauded the Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement that the agency will invest up to $365 million to install solar and battery storage systems at community healthcare facilities and public or privately owned, federally subsidized multi-family housing properties.
 

[WASHINGTON] — Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) released the following statement after the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) appointment of a District Election Officer to oversee voting rights violations in Puerto Rico under the Election Day Program:
 
“The appointment of an election officer to address allegations of fraud, discrimination, and intimidation in Puerto Rico is welcome news. However, this step does not address the island’s deep structural electoral issues.
 

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led 7 of her colleagues from the New York delegation in a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urging the agency to reassign jurisdiction of its San Juan Field Office from Region IV in Atlanta to Region II in New York.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) calling on the agency to act to safeguard the rights of Puerto Rican voters in the face of ongoing disenfranchisement in the Puerto Rican electoral system.
 

Washington, D.C. –Today, on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane María’s landfall in Puerto Rico, Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the Data Improvement for Puerto Rico Recovery Act. This legislation would require federal agencies providing recovery grants for Puerto Rico to report on the critical data gaps they face while administering these grants and indicate the federal statistical products to which Puerto Rico should be integrated into.
 

Washington, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led 12 members in writing to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), calling on the agency to improve health care services for seniors in Puerto Rico by thoroughly reviewing and refining the formula used to determine payments for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans on the island.

Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act. This bill would require the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to create a program to identify and address specific capability gaps and challenges that the U.S. territories (government entities, NGOs, and other grant recipients) experience while conducting recovery activities after a major disaster.
 

Washington D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led 12 members in sending a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raising concerns about a Puerto Rico law that is enabling tax evasion by the American wealthy, and asking the IRS to expedite a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by a coalition of Puerto Rican and U.S advocacy groups regarding the agency’s efforts to identify and address noncompliance with this law.