Nearly 1.5 million Puerto Rico residents, including more than 300,000 children, are facing deep cuts in food assistance in August, but the new Senate Republican economic relief plan doesn’t include more food aid for Puerto Rico. While the House-passed Heroes Act includes a modest increase in nutrition funding for Puerto Rico, it falls short of Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced’s request. Without...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Stronger Working-Family Tax Credits Can Help Puerto Rico Bounce Back
February 12, 2020
Several bills in Congress, including the Economic Mobility Act that the House Ways and Means Committee approved last summer and the earthquake disaster package that the House passed last week, would give a significant boost to Puerto Rico’s low- and moderate-income families by strengthening the Commonwealth’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the federal Child Tax Credit as it applies to...
Earthquakes Highlight Puerto Rico’s Inadequate Access to Nutrition Assistance
February 6, 2020
Puerto Rico’s ongoing wait for federal policymakers to provide vital emergency funding in the aftermath of recent powerful earthquakes highlights a larger problem: Puerto Rico receives capped annual funding for its Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) that doesn’t enable the program...
Without Senate Action, Puerto Rico, Other Territories Lack Critical Health, Food Aid
May 16, 2019
The Senate still hasn’t approved emergency disaster relief legislation, keeping more than a million Americans who live in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories without much-needed health and food aid. While negotiations to finalize the Senate’s disaster bill reportedly are making progress, the Senate must...
Working Families Tax Relief Act Would Help Puerto Rico Families
May 14, 2019
Low- and moderate-income families in Puerto Rico would get a significant income boost from the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would substantially expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Puerto Rico as well as nationally and also help the Commonwealth expand...
Without Immediate Federal Action, 1.4 Million Puerto Rico Residents Face Food Aid Cuts
February 5, 2019
March 1, 2019: This blog post has been updated with more recent information about the size of NAP benefit cuts and the number of people affected.
Some 1.4 million Puerto Rico residents will face deep cuts in food assistance or lose it entirely in March unless President Trump and Congress provide more funding for the Commonwealth’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), which is...
Puerto Rico on Verge of Implementing an EITC
December 10, 2018
With Puerto Rico’s governor signing a major tax package into law today, the Commonwealth is slated to implement a local Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2019. The EITC is a proven and much-needed tool that should help the Commonwealth combat high levels of poverty (...
Without More Federal Funding, 1.4 Million Puerto Rico Residents Face Food Aid Cuts
December 10, 2018
Some 1.4 million Puerto Rico residents will face deep cuts in food assistance or lose it entirely in March unless President Trump and Congress provide more funding for the Commonwealth’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) — which is Puerto Rico’s version of SNAP (food stamps). Policymakers can avert this “March cliff” by providing the needed funding in the disaster legislation they may...
