Community Project Funding Requests
Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Community Project Funding Requests
NOTE: The projects are listed alphabetically by Subcommittee and intended recipient
Subcommittee: Energy and Water Development
Project Title: Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico
Proposed Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Virgin Islands Puerto Rico (VIPR) Task Force
Recipient Address: Fundación Ángel Ramos Annex Building, Suite 202, 383 Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue, San Juan, PR 00918
Amount Requested: $700,000
Explanation: This project would fund an assumption of maintenance report for Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico. In Section 8306 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-263, Division H, Title LXXXI, Subtitle C, Section 8306), Congress authorized the Secretary of the Army to assume responsibility for maintenance of Yabucoa Harbor, if it is determined that such assumption is economically justified and environmentally acceptable and that the channel was constructed in accordance with applicable permits and appropriate engineering and design standards. The Port of Yabucoa in southeastern Puerto Rico is a critical facility that supplies a sizable portion of the Island’s fuel demands. The requested funding—the Fiscal Year 2025 capability—would enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the necessary validation study to determine whether a federal assumption of operation and maintenance of Yabucoa Harbor would be appropriate.
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Subcommittee: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Project Title: National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop
Proposed Recipient: Puerto Rico National Guard
Recipient Address: 552 Borinqueneer Street, Fort Buchanan, PR 00934
Amount Requested: $63,000,000
Explanation: This project would fund the construction of a 47,696 square-foot National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop in Gurabo, Puerto Rico that supports administrative and logistical requirements for the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The project—included in the National Guard Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2025 Unfunded Priorities List (UPL)—would replace the existing facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and is no longer viably operational. The new construction of a vehicle maintenance shop would improve the Puerto Rico Army National Guard’s readiness, providing the necessary space and infrastructure to address backlogs and repair and perform maintenance on all unit military vehicles. It would also reduce operational costs from having to transport vehicles to other locations, and ensure equipment readiness to support both federal and state missions.
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Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Community Project Funding Requests
NOTE: The projects are listed alphabetically by Subcommittee and intended recipient
Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Deployment of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs)
Proposed Recipient:Bluetide Puerto Rico, Inc.
Recipient Address: 482 Avenida Manuel Fernández Juncos, San Juan, PR 00901
Amount Requested: $5,600,000
Explanation: This project would fund the deployment and installation of fifty fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the coastal waters of Puerto Rico to increase recreational and commercial fishing activities and support the growth of the local ocean-based economy, also known as the blue economy.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: LEAP STEAM Resiliency and Disaster Relief Fab Lab
Proposed Recipient: LEAP Social Enterprise, Inc.
Recipient Address: Alondra Street 100, 65th Infantry Avenue, Office #22, San Juan, PR 00928
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation: This project would fund the establishment of a LEAP STEAM Resiliency and Disaster Relief Fab Lab (fabrication lab) in each of the five LEAP schools in Puerto Rico, located in San Juan, Bayamón, and Carolina. Laboratories will be equipped with computers, 3D printers, teaching materials, among other items in support of research and manufacturing of technologies to counter climate risks and increase disaster resiliency. The project is expected to promote the research, design, and manufacturing of new technologies, while supporting STEAM education, improving academic achievement, and impacting over 2,340 students.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Municipality of Florida Security Camera System
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Florida
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 1168, Florida, PR 00650
Amount Requested: $350,000
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Police Patrol Vehicles and Equipment for the Gurabo Municipal Police
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Gurabo
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 3020, Gurabo, PR 00778
Amount Requested: $500,000
Explanation: This project would improve public safety in the Municipality of Gurabo by funding the acquisition of seven police patrol vehicles, which include four police interceptor SUVs, one police responder pickup truck, one police motorcycle, and two personal patrol electric vehicles/mobility scooters; twenty-five portable radios; two mobile solar-power surveillance camera systems; and other equipment for the municipal police department. These additional assets, resources, and technological tools would enhance local policing activities, providing needed capabilities to ensure municipal police officers can effectively combat crime and carry out their law enforcement responsibilities.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Municipality of Vega Alta Security Camera System and Command Center Equipment
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Vega Alta
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 1390, Vega Alta, PR 00692
Amount Requested: $1,267,200
Explanation: This project would improve public safety in the Municipality of Vega Alta by funding the acquisition and installation of a town-wide security camera system, consisting of one hundred and twenty-five surveillance cameras and technological and monitoring equipment for the municipal police department’s surveillance command center. These additional technological capabilities would support local law enforcement operations, assist with the identification and apprehension of suspects, generate valuable evidence to support criminal investigations, and allow municipal police officers to monitor and proactively respond to any suspicious activity or crime incidents.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Body Armor (Bulletproof) Vests for the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau
Proposed Recipient: Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety
Recipient Address: 235 Avenida Arterial Hostos Suite 103, Capital Center II, San Juan, PR 00918
Amount Requested: $906,500
Explanation: This project would fund the acquisition of seven hundred Level IIIA body armor vests for two law enforcement agencies under the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety: the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau. The acquisition of these bulletproof vests would bolster local policing capabilities by equipping seven hundred sworn, law enforcement officers—six hundred within the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and one hundred within the Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau—with needed protection to combat and prevent crime, including efforts against armed violent gangs, drug traffickers, and transnational criminal organizations.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Coral Reef Restoration and Capacity-Building in Vieques
Proposed Recipient: Sociedad Ambiente Marino
Recipient Address: Calle 3 #1130 Urb. Villa Nevarez, San Juan, PR 00927
Amount Requested: $1,182,800
Explanation: This project would fund a coral reef restoration and conservation project in the island-municipality of Vieques, Puerto Rico that will outplant approximately 7,000 colonies of Staghorn and Elkhorn coral and help build local capacity and expertise in coastal habitat restoration activities. It will be conducted by Sociedad Ambiente Marino, in collaboration with the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust. The coral reef restoration activities are expected to increase coastal resilience and provide flood protection to communities and infrastructure in Vieques, given reefs act as submerged breakwaters that reduce wave energy hitting the coastline. This increased resilience in turn helps reduce future costs of recovery efforts in the aftermath of storms.
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Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, and Science
Project Title: Debris Removal and Coastal Restoration Project in Medianía Alta, Loíza
Proposed Recipient: University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 6150, Aguadilla, PR 00604
Amount Requested: $750,000
Explanation: This project would fund the assessment, design, and implementation of ecological restoration techniques for the east coast of Loíza, Puerto Rico, specifically the coast of the Medianía Alta community, focused on the removal of coastal debris and the installation of living breakwaters and living shorelines. It will be carried out by the Vida Marina Center for Conservation and Ecological Restoration at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla. The project is expected to contribute to the long-term resilience of the area, providing protection against the impacts of receding shorelines and extreme erosion, coastal flooding, and other natural hazards that make the surrounding communities vulnerable and threaten lives, private property, primary infrastructure, and habitats.
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Subcommittee: Energy and Water Development
Project Title: Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico
Proposed Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Virgin Islands Puerto Rico (VIPR) Task Force
Recipient Address: Fundación Ángel Ramos Annex Building, Suite 202, 383 Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue, San Juan, PR 00918
Amount Requested: $700,000
Explanation: This project would fund an assumption of maintenance report for Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico. In Section 8306 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-263, Division H, Title LXXXI, Subtitle C, Section 8306), Congress authorized the Secretary of the Army to assume responsibility for maintenance of Yabucoa Harbor, if it is determined that such assumption is economically justified and environmentally acceptable and that the channel was constructed in accordance with applicable permits and appropriate engineering and design standards. The Port of Yabucoa in southeastern Puerto Rico is a critical facility that supplies a sizable portion of the Island’s fuel demands. The requested funding—the Fiscal Year 2025 capability—would enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the necessary validation study to determine whether a federal assumption of operation and maintenance of Yabucoa Harbor would be appropriate.
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Subcommittee: Interior and Environment
Project Title: Bayamón Gardens-Rexville Stormwater Management Project
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Bayamón
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 1588, Bayamón, PR 00960
Amount Requested: $600,000
Explanation: This project would improve stormwater management infrastructure in the Bayamón Gardens and Rexville neighborhoods, particularly along Duero Avenue, by funding the construction of a new stormwater storage or retention box with increased capacity as well as necessary enhancements to the underground pipes system to improve water discharge conditions. These measures are necessary to properly capture runoff water in the aftermath of heavy rainfall events and to facilitate adequate flow through the drainage system, thus minimizing public health risks, localized flooding, and the discharge of pollutants into nearby bodies of water.
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Subcommittee: Interior and Environment
Project Title: Marginal Norte Avenue Stormwater Management Project
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Bayamón
Recipient Address: P.O. Box 1588, Bayamón, PR 00960
Amount Requested: $2,200,000
Explanation: This project would fund the construction of a box culvert and an open channel along Marginal Norte Avenue to address deficiencies in the stormwater management system—mainly, the lack of capacity for the volume of runoff water that flows through the road after excessive rainfall and contributes to flooding in the area, impacting nearby residential apartment buildings and an adjacent rapid transit rail line—and safely divert stormwater towards designated drainage outlets. Both improvements are necessary to provide additional pathways for stormwater runoff, thus minimizing adverse impacts to public health, public safety, private property, and transit infrastructure, while reducing the risk of pollutants eventually reaching nearby bodies of water.
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Subcommittee: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Project Title: National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop
Proposed Recipient: Puerto Rico National Guard
Recipient Address: 552 Borinqueneer Street, Fort Buchanan, PR 00934
Amount Requested: $63,000,000
Explanation: This project would fund the construction of a 47,696 square-foot National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop in Gurabo, Puerto Rico that supports administrative and logistical requirements for the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The project—included in the National Guard Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2025 Unfunded Priorities List (UPL)—would replace the existing facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and is no longer viably operational. The new construction of a vehicle maintenance shop would improve the Puerto Rico Army National Guard’s readiness, providing the necessary space and infrastructure to address backlogs and repair and perform maintenance on all unit military vehicles. It would also reduce operational costs from having to transport vehicles to other locations, and ensure equipment readiness to support both federal and state missions.
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Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
Project Title: Agri-Business Innovation Center Facility Rehabilitation
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Isabela
Recipient Address: Manuel Corchado Juarbe Street #75, Isabela, PR 00662
Amount Requested: $3,500,000
Explanation: This project would fund the rehabilitation of a former school in Isabela, Puerto Rico to transform it into a center that provides space, equipment, and other resources for fifteen agricultural businesses. The center will provide training services for farmers and producers on best practices, opportunities to increase marketing and sales of their products, among other business features that maximize economic opportunities and increase access to healthy foods.
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Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
Project Title: Lajas Municipal Resiliency Centers Rehabilitation
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Lajas
Recipient Address: Victoria Street #5, Lajas, PR 00667
Amount Requested: $1,350,000
Explanation: This project would fund the rehabilitation of fifteen buildings—consisting of fourteen community centers and one unused school—in the rural areas of Lajas, Puerto Rico to serve as resiliency centers. The centers will be equipped with solar power equipment, water tanks, shelter space, storage for first aid kits and other essential materials, among other improvements necessary to provide residents with safe, temporary shelter and services in the event of natural or other disasters.
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Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
Project Title: Manatí Urban Center Affordable Housing Rehabilitation and Redevelopment
Proposed Recipient: Municipality of Manatí
Recipient Address: 10 Calle Quiñones, Manatí, PR 00674
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Explanation: This project would fund the redevelopment of twelve abandoned and vacant properties in the Municipality of Manatí’s traditional urban center and convert them into affordable housing units, tailored for low- and very low-income households participating under the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8). The project thus seeks to rehabilitate pre-existing underutilized or blighted spaces to address the urgent need for affordable housing in Manatí, while simultaneously tackling the problem of abandoned properties, helping revitalize the central downtown district, and drive economic development through increased density and the infusion of new residents to the area.
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Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Community Project Funding Request
Project Title: National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop
Recipient: Puerto Rico National Guard
Recipient Address: 552 Borinqueneer Street, Fort Buchanan, PR 00934
Member’s Request: $63,000,000
Purpose: This project would fund the construction of a 47,696 square-foot National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop in Gurabo, Puerto Rico that supports administrative and logistical requirements for the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The project—included in the National Guard Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2025 Unfunded Priorities List (UPL)—would replace the existing facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and is no longer viably operational. The new construction of a vehicle maintenance shop would improve the Puerto Rico Army National Guard’s readiness, providing the necessary space and infrastructure to address backlogs and repair and perform maintenance on all unit military vehicles. It would also reduce operational costs from having to transport vehicles to other locations, and ensure equipment readiness to support both federal and state missions.
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Fiscal Year 2022 Transportation and Infrastructure Projects Requests:
Projects submitted by Congresswoman González Colón to the House Appropriations Committee in FY2022:
Projects submitted by Congresswoman González Colón to the House Appropriations Committee in FY2023:
Projects submitted by Congresswoman González Colón to the House Appropriations Committee in FY2024: