By John McPhaul
jpmcphaul@gmail.com
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón has submitted 15 community projects for consideration by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for possible federal funding for the upcoming fiscal year 2023.
“Puerto Rico faces very unique challenges, largely from the ravages of the 2017 hurricanes, earthquakes and the ongoing pandemic,” the resident commissioner said Monday in a written statement. “On a large scale, the community projects I presented prioritize rebuilding, economic development, and security in our municipalities. They also support initiatives of university institutions in Puerto Rico to advance in the fields of agriculture, STEM and the aerospace industry, access to housing for the elderly homeless, and to provide assistance to women and LGBTQ victims of domestic violence. If the projects are approved, it would mean a great injection for the benefit of the communities around the island.”
The proposals would provide resources to island municipalities for infrastructure projects and reinforce security and attention to the community, González Colón said. Likewise, they support university institutions with research efforts, improve the training of members of the U.S. Army on the island and address the needs of the most vulnerable such as the elderly and LGBTQ+ community, homeless people and victims of domestic violence.
House members had the opportunity to submit a maximum of 15 community projects. Several of the 15 projects submitted by the resident commissioner are:
* Hogar Ruth Community Services Center: $3,996,500 for the construction of a community services center where the organization Hogar Ruth Para Mujeres Battratadas Inc. can offer its assistance programs to women victims of violence and their families, which include access to housing, support programs for victims of sexual assault and initiatives of community impact and education.
* Center for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture: $941,975 to expand the laboratory capacities of the Institute for Sustainable Biotechnology (ISBiot) attached to Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Barranquitas Campus. The center would work on in vitro seed germination and provide technical assistance on this type of planting to local researchers and farmers, improving agricultural production, food security and economic development in the central region of Puerto Rico.
* Infrastructure Improvements and Quebrada de Monte Claro Mitigation Project in Bayamón: $3,250,000 for infrastructure improvements and a landslide mitigation project in the Quebrada de Monte Claro in Bayamón.