Washington, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Democrats released a new report outlining how investment in Puerto Rico’s clean energy infrastructure can support economic growth on the island. Congress has appropriated $12 billion in relief funding to rebuild Puerto Rico’s energy system, including modernization of the energy grid, in response to the destruction caused by multiple recent natural disasters. The report argues that these funds offer an opportunity for investment in a modern grid.
“A more resilient energy system that uses cleaner, domestically produced sources will protect communities’ health and wellbeing, and provide a strong foundation on which Puerto Rico can further build a future of strong and more equitable economic growth,” the report says. “Strong growth in this sector offers the opportunity to build more Puerto Rican owned renewable energy businesses, initiate job growth that prioritizes the hiring of Puerto Ricans, protect the wellbeing of local communities, and help secure a new path of economic progress.”
The report can be found online in English and Spanish.
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About Chairman Martin Heinrich
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has served the people of New Mexico in the United States Senate since 2012. In addition to his role as Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, Heinrich also serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Heinrich served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, four years as an Albuquerque City Councilor, as New Mexico’s Natural Resources Trustee, and in AmeriCorps with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee is Congress’s bicameral economic think tank. It was created when Congress passed the Employment Act of 1946. Under this Act, Congress established two advisory panels: the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and the JEC. Their primary tasks are to review economic conditions and to recommend improvements in economic policy. Chairmanship of the JEC alternates between the Senate and House every Congress.
