Sponsors (8)
The bill aims to create an evidence-based, consolidated pathway to federal disaster funding for Puerto Rico—potentially improving coordination and speed—at the cost of delivering no immediate relief and raising risks of centralization, new compliance strains, and added administrative burdens.
Puerto Rico public officials and residents could face fewer administrative hurdles and gain clearer, faster access to federal disaster and recovery grants, speeding reconstruction and relief efforts.
A GAO-led study could identify ways to better coordinate federal funds across agencies, improving effectiveness of reconstruction after hurricanes and earthquakes.
Congress and policymakers will receive an independent, evidence-based GAO analysis within about a year to inform targeted legislative or regulatory fixes.
Puerto Rico residents—particularly low-income and disaster-affected households—receive no immediate additional relief because the bill commissions a study rather than providing direct funding or program changes.
Consolidating grant administration risks centralizing control and imposing one-size-fits-all rules that may not match local needs, undermining effective local recovery efforts.
Efforts to reconcile expanded federal funding with PROMESA oversight could create new compliance requirements or conditions that strain Puerto Rico's public finances and management capacity.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Directs GAO to study whether Puerto Rico can use an insular-area grant consolidation authority and report recommendations to Congress within one year.
Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether Puerto Rico can use an existing federal grant consolidation authority available to certain insular areas, and to report findings and recommendations to Congress within one year. The study must analyze current access to programs listed in 45 C.F.R. §97.12, list programs local officials recommend adding, identify challenges Puerto Rico faces in meeting funding requirements, assess whether extending consolidation access would help, and include local officials' recommendations; Puerto Rico officials must respond to GAO requests within 90 days or face possible adverse inference.
Introduced January 21, 2025 by Nydia M. Velázquez · Last progress January 21, 2025