Jenniffer González announces $ 4.9 million in federal funds to counter COVID-19
Press Release
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced a new allocation of federal funds totaling $ 4,984,074 granted to the Island under the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA, by and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to address the coronavirus emergency.
Under EDA's CARES Act Recovery Assistance program, the Municipality of Caguas will receive $ 547,705 for administrative expenses to address the economic development needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The CARES Act, signed by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020, grants the EDA $ 1.5 billion for economic development aid programs as resources to communities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus.
The municipality of Caguas will also receive $ 3,151,293 in funds from the FTA Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula, this to support operational, administrative and preventive maintenance costs to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency. Covered expenses may include driver salaries, fuel, security guard salaries, consultant salaries, supplies, personal protective equipment, and cleaning supplies.
Under this same program, the municipality of Vega Baja was awarded $ 1,285,076.
Transit agencies were allocated $ 25 billion under the Cares Act to help prevent, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, Puerto Rico has received close to $ 10,301,366,012.75 in federal funds to address the challenges of the pandemic. The resident commissioner has advocated and managed federal funds and resources to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus in the different industries and sectors on the Island, and also in the communities. These funds do not include those awarded under the temporary unemployment benefits program known as Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA, for its acronym in English). its acronym in English).
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