The Trump administration is releasing its hold on billions of dollars of aid to Puerto Rico after a months-long delay. But it is still unclear exactly when those funds will reach the hurricane-ravaged island.
The tranche of money, more than $8 billion, is allocated through a Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster recovery fund. It was supposed to be released months ago to help the island rebuild in the wake of devastating Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
So far $1.5 billion in HUD aid has been made available, of which Puerto Rico has drawn approximately $11 million, according to a HUD spokesperson. In all, Congress has approved roughly $20 billion in long-term rebuilding aid to Puerto Rico that HUD is mandated to disburse.
The delay in releasing the funds riled politicians, particularly congressional Democrats. They sought to ramp up pressure on the administration to lift the hold on the aid following a series of recent earthquakes, including a massive 6.4 magnitude quake this month that walloped the U.S. territory.