Resident commissioner announces $29.5 million in new federal appropriations

By THE STAR STAFF

Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón congratulated the recipients of new federal appropriations totaling $29,542,421.00 for having met the necessary requirements and putting the funds obtained in Congress to use, and urged other entities to request the federal aid that represents relief from economic burden, and promotes development and the welfare of the population.

The co-chair of the congressional Caucus of Institutions Serving Hispanics announced over the weekend that the U.S. Department of Education (DE) approved funds for six institutions of higher education that requested it.

Under the DE’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine will receive $599,351, and the Carolina Campus of Ana G. Méndez University will receive $599,984, while its Cupey campus will receive $572,126.

The HIS provides grants to help Hispanic-serving institutions expand educational opportunities and improve the achievement of Hispanic students, as well as enable them to expand and improve their academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability.

Another program under which institutions on the island received funding is the Promotion of Graduate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans. It provides grants to expand graduate educational opportunities; improve the academic performance of Hispanic students, expand postgraduate academic offerings and improve program quality at higher education institutions that are educating the majority of Hispanic college students and helping large numbers of Hispanic and low-income students earn postsecondary degrees.

Under the program, Ana G. Méndez University will receive $600,000 while its Cupey campus will also receive $600,000 and the San Germán Campus of Inter-American University will receive $405,260.

González Colón, who is also co-chair of the Ocean Caucus, announced that the Fisheries Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommended $555,425 in continuation funding in fiscal year 2023 for two multi-year projects being undertaken by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources under the Species Recovery Grant Program. The funding includes $419,398 for coral research and protection projects and $136,027 for strengthening Nassau grouper recovery in Puerto Rico.