[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 596 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 596

   To require a study relating to the consolidation of certain grant 
 programs currently available to insular areas and the suitability of 
      such consolidation for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2025

Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 
Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Meng, Mr. Espaillat, and Mr. 
  Hernandez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require a study relating to the consolidation of certain grant 
 programs currently available to insular areas and the suitability of 
      such consolidation for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Report on Grant Consolidation 
Authority for Puerto Rico Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    (a) Increased Burden on the Public Sector of Puerto Rico.--The 
Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Puerto Rico faces a severe economic crisis, 
        characterized by the largest municipal bankruptcy in the United 
        States history, higher levels of poverty and socioeconomic 
        inequality when compared to the rest of the United States, and 
        a reduced labor force.
            (2) Puerto Rico is managing a large recovery and 
        reconstruction process prompted by hurricanes Irma, Maria, and 
        Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, and the COVID pandemic.
            (3) The set of post-disaster conditions has exerted a great 
        burden on the public sector of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
        Public employees have had to comply with new fiscal 
        requirements imposed by the Financial Oversight and Management 
        Board under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic 
        Stability Act (``PROMESA''), handle historic allocations of 
        Federal funds, which involves engaging with new agencies, 
        programs, and requirements over time, and balance fiscal 
        constraints with the urgency to recruit specialized and full-
        time workforce for the best use of disaster funding.
    (b) Statement of Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to study 
the suitability of grant consolidation to minimize the burden upon the 
public sector of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and maximize its 
available resources to access Federal funding.

SEC. 3. STUDY REQUIRED.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
containing the results of a study on the process by which grants made 
available by the Federal Government are consolidated for insular areas 
pursuant to part 97 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations. Such 
report shall also contain the following:
            (1) An analysis, in consultation with appropriate officials 
        of local agencies in Puerto Rico, about the manner in which 
        such agencies currently access funding from programs that are 
        listed in section 97.12 of such part 97.
            (2) A list of each grant or other program that such 
        officials would recommend adding to the list of programs under 
        such section 97.12.
            (3) Any challenges noted by the Comptroller General or by 
        such officials relating to meeting the existing requirements 
        for obtaining funding for Puerto Rico from such listed 
        programs.
            (4) An assessment by the Comptroller General whether any of 
        the challenges described pursuant to paragraph (3) with respect 
        to existing requirements for obtaining funding would be 
        partially or wholly addressed by extending access to the 
        consolidation of such funding to Puerto Rico in the same manner 
        and to the same extent as the insular areas.
            (5) Any recommendations of such officials regarding the 
        manner in which that current process for access to such funding 
        should change, including recommendations relating to extending 
        access to the consolidation of such funding to Puerto Rico.
    (b) Access to Prompt and Complete Information.--Any official of 
Puerto Rico from whom the Comptroller General seeks information for 
purposes of the report required by subsection (a) shall promptly and 
comprehensively respond to such request for information, and in no case 
later than 90 days after the receipt of such a request. To the extent 
appropriate, the Comptroller General may interpret a lack of response, 
or a partial or incomplete response, to any such request for 
information adversely in compiling the report required by such 
subsection.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on 
        Education and Labor, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
        of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the 
        Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
        Senate.
                                 <all>