Puerto Rico to get US$ 6 billion from US for Hurricane preparations

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration is issuing $1.3 billion in aid earmarked by Congress to help the U.S island nation protect itself from future weather disasters.

In partnership with the department of housing, Psaki said the Biden administration is also working to remove onerous limitations put in place by the last administration on nearly $5 billion in additional funds.

Department of Housing and Urban Development will go via changes, including support projects and economic development.

According to the Press, Pierluisi, who praised the Biden administration's speedy help, said some $3.2 billion is now also available to Puerto Rico to continue rebuilding from hurricanes Irma and Maria.

So far, Puerto Rico has not only received $18 billion of the $43 billion Congress committed to the island over concerns about how the money would be used.

Democratic lawmakers in Florida and New York also expedited Biden to release the outstanding funds to facilitate the recovery effort, which has been considerably hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Former President Trump and his government repeatedly lauded the amount of money allotted to Puerto Rico to assist with natural disaster restoration attempts. But Trump himself repeatedly alienated island leaders.

Trump earlier doubted the death toll from the hurricane, maintaining it was expanded to make him look bad. He regularly went after the mayor of San Juan and mocked the island as "one of the most corrupt places on Earth."

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Tuesday that his administration would "use every cent" of billions in federal hurricane assistance funds after their relief was established, pushing back upon fraud concerns that drove the Trump administration to continue onto the pressure aid for years.