Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves told participants at the Puerto Rico Economic Dialogue that the Biden administration was committed to working with partners across the archipelago, in their communities and in the private, nonprofit and government sectors.
The administration invests in Puerto Rico’s economic growth through many of the agencies attending the dialogue and will ensure growth is inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, he said, according to a Commerce Department news release.
“Hurricane Fiona has exposed how vulnerable Puerto Rico remains to these types of events and how little recovery efforts at the Federal and local level have progressed due to slow Federal funds disbursements,” Graves said, according to the release.
Graves spoke about discussions with Gov. Pedro Pierluisi during his visit to Puerto Rico in August during which they shared a commitment to focus all funds on meeting the needs and expectations of taxpayers responsibly. The release reported they agreed with how important workforce development and attracting human capital were.
Leveraging Bipartisan Infrastructure Law resources to develop resilient infrastructure for a more diversified economy could be accomplished “by attracting new business, facilitating innovation and competition and building capacity through data-driven solutions to improve measures of economic growth,” Graves said, according to the release.
He said the administration would continue to work on identifying future collaboration topics and further developing initiatives that would include the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, the release reported. Together they plan to tackle some of the biggest manufacturing and innovation challenges as they position Puerto Rico as a hub for research and developement and innovation in critical sectors.
