By The Star Staff
The U.S. House of Representatives will take House Resolution 4820, which contains funding for seven community projects from Puerto Rico, to the floor this week.
The measure is called the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
“This measure contains seven community projects that we submitted and the Appropriations Committee approved and now go to the full House vote,” Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón said over the weekend. “As a congresswoman, I had the opportunity again this year to choose projects through which municipalities and nonprofit organizations, among other entities, benefit. I am very pleased that these funds, totaling $8.75 million for the seven projects, would impact services for low-income people and people with special needs, our senior population, and water infrastructure in the municipalities. I hope they will be approved this coming week.”
After the House votes on the legislation, if approved it would go to the Senate for consideration.
The resident commissioner provided a list of community projects that will go to vote this week:
1. Center for Help and Therapy for Children with Disabilities Inc. (Centro AYANI Inc.): consisting of $3.5 million in capital improvements and the equipping of three of its centers in the municipalities of Moca, Aguadilla and Camuy with solar panels, water well systems and improved accessibility in their parking lots.
2. Housing project for the elderly in Isabela. The House will decide whether to allocate $1.75 million for the rehabilitation and construction of the Ciudad de Oro Home for the Elderly in the municipality of Isabela.
3. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico: $1 million for the rehabilitation of a building in Arecibo to be used as a community center of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico.
4. Fundación Alas a la Mujer Inc.: $750,000 for structural improvements and rehabilitation of a temporary emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence in the municipality of Utuado. It would also house victims from Adjuntas, Jayuya, Lares, and the central region of Puerto Rico.
5. The construction of a housing complex and center for the elderly in Barceloneta: $750,000 for the construction of a housing center for low-income seniors who receive assistance from the Section 8 program, in the municipality of Barceloneta. The facilities will, in turn, serve as a senior center with common recreation areas and to offer services to the senior population.
6. Construction of a water pumping station in Yauco: $500,000 for the construction of a new water pumping station in the Duey neighborhood in the municipality of Yauco. The new station would connect a well to a drinking water distribution system. It would directly serve eight communities, thus supporting essential services in the rural area of the municipality.
7. San Germán Children’s Home Shelter Project: $500,000 for the planning, design and construction of the San Germán Children’s Home Shelter facilities that will help its expansion and increase the capacity of the nonprofit organization.
This year, U.S. House lawmakers once again had the opportunity to submit community projects for consideration by the Appropriations Committee. Between fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the resident commissioner secured $21.8 million for 15 community projects.