Bill Details
HR.596 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-01-21 - Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced Date
2025-01-21
Policy Area
Government Operations and Politics
Committees
View committees (1)
Cosponsors
9
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would require the U.S. Comptroller General to study whether Puerto Rico should be allowed to combine certain federal grant programs in the same way that some other U.S. island areas already can. The goal is to see whether a more flexible grant system would make it easier for Puerto Rico’s government to manage federal money, reduce paperwork, and better use limited staff and resources. The bill says Puerto Rico is under heavy strain because of economic problems, past disasters, ongoing recovery work, and federal fiscal rules. It asks for a report to Congress within one year on how the current system works, what problems local officials face, and whether expanding grant consolidation to Puerto Rico would help.
- The bill says Puerto Rico has major economic and recovery challenges, including damage from hurricanes, earthquakes, and COVID-19, along with strict budget and staffing limits.
- The study must look at how Puerto Rico’s agencies currently apply for funding from certain federal programs and how well that process is working.
- Local Puerto Rican officials would be asked to name other grant programs they think should be added to the list of programs that can be combined under the current federal rules for island areas.
- The report must also identify any barriers to getting funding, and decide whether giving Puerto Rico the same grant consolidation option as other insular areas would solve some or all of those problems.
Official Summaries
Report on Grant Consolidation Authority for Puerto Rico Act
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress regarding the consolidation of certain grant programs currently available to insular areas and the suitability of such consolidation for Puerto Rico. (At present, such consolidation allows insular areas to apply for a consolidated grant in lieu of filing an individual application for each eligible grant program.)
Further, any official of Puerto Rico from whom the GAO seeks information for purposes of that report must promptly and comprehensively respond to such request for information.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 596 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 596
To require a study relating to the consolidation of certain grant
programs currently available to insular areas and the suitability of
such consolidation for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 21, 2025
Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez,
Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Meng, Mr. Espaillat, and Mr.
Hernandez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a study relating to the consolidation of certain grant
programs currently available to insular areas and the suitability of
such consolidation for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Report on Grant Consolidation
Authority for Puerto Rico Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
(a) Increased Burden on the Public Sector of Puerto Rico.--The
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Puerto Rico faces a severe economic crisis,
characterized by the largest municipal bankruptcy in the United
States history, higher levels of poverty and socioeconomic
inequality when compared to the rest of the United States, and
a reduced labor force.
(2) Puerto Rico is managing a large recovery and
reconstruction process prompted by hurricanes Irma, Maria, and
Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, and the COVID pandemic.
(3) The set of post-disaster conditions has exerted a great
burden on the public sector of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Public employees have had to comply with new fiscal
requirements imposed by the Financial Oversight and Management
Board under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic
Stability Act (``PROMESA''), handle historic allocations of
Federal funds, which involves engaging with new agencies,
programs, and requirements over time, and balance fiscal
constraints with the urgency to recruit specialized and full-
time workforce for the best use of disaster funding.
(b) Statement of Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to study
the suitability of grant consolidation to minimize the burden upon the
public sector of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and maximize its
available resources to access Federal funding.
SEC. 3. STUDY REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
containing the results of a study on the process by which grants made
available by the Federal Government are consolidated for insular areas
pursuant to part 97 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations. Such
report shall also contain the following:
(1) An analysis, in consultation with appropriate officials
of local agencies in Puerto Rico, about the manner in which
such agencies currently access funding from programs that are
listed in section 97.12 of such part 97.
(2) A list of each grant or other program that such
officials would recommend adding to the list of programs under
such section 97.12.
(3) Any challenges noted by the Comptroller General or by
such officials relating to meeting the existing requirements
for obtaining funding for Puerto Rico from such listed
programs.
(4) An assessment by the Comptroller General whether any of
the challenges described pursuant to paragraph (3) with respect
to existing requirements for obtaining funding would be
partially or wholly addressed by extending access to the
consolidation of such funding to Puerto Rico in the same manner
and to the same extent as the insular areas.
(5) Any recommendations of such officials regarding the
manner in which that current process for access to such funding
should change, including recommendations relating to extending
access to the consolidation of such funding to Puerto Rico.
(b) Access to Prompt and Complete Information.--Any official of
Puerto Rico from whom the Comptroller General seeks information for
purposes of the report required by subsection (a) shall promptly and
comprehensively respond to such request for information, and in no case
later than 90 days after the receipt of such a request. To the extent
appropriate, the Comptroller General may interpret a lack of response,
or a partial or incomplete response, to any such request for
information adversely in compiling the report required by such
subsection.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on
Education and Labor, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate.
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