Jenniffer González and White House Special Representative RADM Peter Brown visit Puerto Rico ahead of the 2020 Hurricane Season

Congresswoman Jenniffer González Colón announced the visit of a delegation led by Rear Admiral Peter Brown, the President's Special Representative for Puerto Rico, that will be visiting the Island next week. The delegation will tour different facilities and areas around Puerto Rico that will focus on energy, hurricane preparedness, economic development and disaster recovery.

Rear Admiral Brown is accompanied by Robert M. Couch, Federal Financial Monitor of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Peter D. Lopez, Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Juan Caro, Policy Advisor at the White House; and Jennifer DeCasero, Director of Recovery and Resilience at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Joining the delegation on the Island will be Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) representatives: Alex Amparo, Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, and Alejandro De La Campa, Acting Deputy Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator.

"Next week I will be joining a delegation led by Rear Admiral Brown to advance the recovery process in Puerto Rico. We continue the federal coordination needed for the reconstruction along with the Government of Puerto Rico and Governor Wanda Vazquez. This process cannot stop, and I will continue to join federal efforts to achieve it." said the Congresswoman.

"The White House is committed to the economic and physical recovery of Puerto Rico. We are working closely with the Resident Commissioner, the Governor, and over a dozen federal agencies and departments to ensure that the island is ready for this year's hurricane season." expressed Rear Admiral Brown.

González-Colón added that "Rear Admiral Brown and the White House are aware of the need for a robust economy in Puerto Rico. For this, both the local government and the federal government must work in coordination. We continue to advance these issues, as well as to bring manufacturing to Puerto Rico. This visit is also focused on economic development".

To address the issue of Puerto Rico's preparedness for the current hurricane season, they will meet with Governor Wanda Vázquez and visit the FEMA distribution center. They will also touch on the topic of health in meetings with representatives of hospitals and the health sector in general.

A very important part of the visit is the generation of energy, for this they will have meetings to know the situation of the public energy system and they will visit the power plants of Palo Seco, South Coast, the Ecoeléctrica natural gas plant, windmill farms and solar panels.

In order to learn more about economic development, they will visit the Port of Ponce with Mayor María "Mayita" Meléndez, a farm in Guayanilla with the Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán. The delegation will also participate on a round table with the pharmaceutical industry and a meeting with the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board.

In the area of security and justice, they will have a meeting with the Federal Prosecutor of the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow and will attend the change of command of the San Juan Sector of the Coast Guard. During the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Rear Admiral Brown served as Commander of the Seventh District of the Coast Guard based in Miami, Florida, taking charge of Puerto Rico.