By Delilah Alvarado
(Puerto Rico) A revived Puerto Rico task force in the White House will focus on rebuilding the territory from the damages of the weather crisis and the pandemic, instead of becoming involved in the congressional debate over Puerto Rico's politics, according to NBC News.
"We don't have jurisdiction on status, but we do have jurisdiction on the billions of dollars that have gone to the island. And there's a real concern that these dollars might not be spent in a way that would make a real difference," Gretchen Sierra-Zorita, the White House's associate director for Puerto Rico and the territories, said Wednesday.
The federal government has given $65 billion in recovery aid, but communities on the island say they have only received close $21 billion, according to the Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency.
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development have received most of the funds.
On Tuesday The White House Working Group held its first official meeting.
In a statement, the White House said investing in infrastructure and resilience to withstand future disasters is a top priority for the task force.
Sierra-Zorita said the task force will also look into economic and workforce development, education, recovery and delivery.