SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico dispersed millions of dollars in holiday bonuses to government workers on Wednesday despite a warning from its federally appointed oversight board that doing so could harm the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth’s ability to make payroll later in the current fiscal year. Governor Ricardo Rossello’s office announced that Christmas bonuses totaling $85.3 […]
Tag: Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló
Puerto Rico Approves Laws For Insurance Policy Holders Post-Hurricane Maria
SAN JUAN — The governor of Puerto Rico overhauled the U.S. commonwealth’s insurance laws on Tuesday to help protect policy holders as thousands of claims remain unresolved more than a year after Hurricane Maria. Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed six laws into effect as he stressed that his administration was not pleased with how insurance companies […]
New Puerto Rico Fiscal Plan Approved Today; Rossello Says It Is Too Austere
SAN JUAN — A federal control board has approved a five-year fiscal plan for Puerto Rico, though Gov. Ricardo Rossello warns it’s too austere and will affect government services. The economic blueprint approved today aims to help pull the U.S. commonwealth out of an economic crisis following a 12-year slump and devastation caused by last […]
Oversight Board Reaches Deal on Fiscal Plan … Rosselló Won’t Give Christmas Bonuses
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico and its federally appointed oversight board have reached a deal to avoid litigation over much-needed economic overhauls in the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth. Governor Ricardo Rosselló and the island’s legislature agreed to repeal protections that make it difficult for private-sector employers to fire workers at will, in hopes of spurring on-island […]
Puerto Rico Governor Details How $1.5 Billion in Federal Hurricane Relief Aid Will Be Used
[ad name=”HTML-68″] [wpedon id=”23995″ align=”left”] SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s governor has released a plan that outlines how his administration will use $1.5 billion in federal funds to help the U.S. commonwealth recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Ricardo Rossello said today that at least $817 million will go to rebuilding single-family homes, and another […]
Puerto Rico’s Governor Rossello Says Full Power Should Return Within a Month
[ad name=”HTML-68″] [wpedon id=”23995″ align=”left”] SAN JUAN — Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello on Wednesday said he expects electricity to be restored across the U.S. commonwealth within a month, but warned that the island’s infrastructure needed to be strengthened ahead of the upcoming hurricane season. “The expectation is that … within the next month we’ll […]
Puerto Rico Federal Oversight Board to Meet This Thursday to Certify Fiscal Plan
SAN JUAN — The oversight board for Puerto Rico, created by Congress, will hold public hearings on Thursday and Friday to certify revised fiscal plans for the commonwealth, the board said today. The board is expected to approve plans for the commonwealth, as well as the island’s utility, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), and […]
Puerto Rico Gets Largest Grant in HUD History … $18.5 Billion To Rebuild Housing Infrastructure
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico will receive $18.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help rebuild its battered housing stock and infrastructure after September’s Hurricane Maria, the island’s governor and HUD officials said on Tuesday. The funding for the U.S. commonwealth was the largest grant in the history of the HUD, said HUD undersecretary […]
Virgin Islands Gets An Additional $1.6 Billion in HUD Funding … Puerto Rico Nets $18.5 Billion
WASHINGTON — In a joint press conference with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Governor Kenneth Mapp said today that the territory will receive $1.6 billion in additional Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to repair and rebuild private and public housing, and for economic revitalization and infrastructure reconstruction […]
Puerto Rico Says It Won’t Cut Government Jobs Or Pensions Just Because The Feds Tell Them To
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s government submitted a required fiscal plan on Thursday that excludes pension cuts and layoffs sought by a federal oversight board as legislators in the U.S. commonwealth angered by its demands debate a bill that would withhold payments for board member salaries, among other things. Gov. Ricardo Rossello told reporters that […]