Governor announces state aid to reopen El Yunque & El Morro amid federal shutdown

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón (Facebook via Jenniffer González Colón)

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón announced two initiatives on Tuesday to mitigate the impact of the federal government shutdown.

Specifically, they are aid for employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and employees of the island’s national parks, El Yunque, and the San Cristóbal and San Felipe del Morro castles.

“I will be instructing the Family secretary to evaluate the payment of at least emergency food stamps to federal employees who need it and who are not receiving pay, because they clearly won’t have the financial resources to support themselves,” the governor said at a press conference. “So, we are instructing the secretary of the Department of Housing to evaluate how to advance or qualify them -- it has happened before -- for food payments,”

“I thank the TSA employees at our airports, who brought this concern to my attention because, although they are federal employees, they are not paid and are working,” González Colón said. “Without them, security at our airports would not be possible, so I am grateful to them. …”

Regarding the national parks, the governor noted that the central government will pay the employees so that the facilities that are a cornerstone of tourism can be opened.

“These are some of Puerto Rico’s most important attractions,” she said. “That’s why the government of Puerto Rico can’t afford to have these federal facilities closed. That’s why the authorization, and in this case, funding from the Tourism Company, is needed to mitigate and keep these operations open. What we’re seeking with this is to maintain the continuity of tourism operations despite the fiscal closure.”