Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Resident Commissioner for Puerto Rico Pablo José Hernández (D-P.R.) led 19 Members of Congress in a letter to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright calling on the Trump Administration to reverse its decision to redirect funding from the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund. In 2022, Congress approved $1 billion for the fund to improve the resilience of the Puerto Rican electric grid.
“We write to express our deep concern regarding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) decision to redirect funding from the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund away from providing the most vulnerable citizens of Puerto Rico with backup power,” wrote the Members. “As you know, these congressionally appropriated funds were intended to provide solar and battery storage at residential communities and health centers across the island. DOE has claimed that the funds will now be deployed to ‘support practical fixes that offer a faster, more impactful solution to the current crisis.’ We, however, remain greatly concerned that the people of Puerto Rico are being used as pawns in President Trump’s attack on clean energy, and fail to see a justification for this action.”
“The long-term recovery process of Puerto Rico’s electric grid has been marked by significant challenges, including recurring power outages that continue to impact the daily lives of Puerto Ricans, with one as recently as this past April,” continued the Members. “We are concerned that redirecting this funding would restart the allocation process, delaying timely and needed resources to medically vulnerable populations. In addition, the legal justification for this “reallocation” of funds, with seeming disregard to congressional intent, remains unclear.”
Read the full letter here. Additional signatories to the letter include Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Representatives Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.-13), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02), Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.-26), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.-14), Nellie Pou (D-N.J.-09), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.-15), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.-07).
The first and only Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Cortez Masto is committed to raising awareness about the needs of people in Puerto Rico. She has supported federal relief for Puerto Rico in the aftermath of devastating natural disasters and has pressed FEMA on their preparedness plans to protect Puerto Rico and the U.S. Islands during hurricane season. She has also previously introduced the Puerto Rico Status Act, legislation establishing a process for the people of Puerto Rico to determine the future of the island’s political status.
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