Coast Guard crews deliver supplies during Hurricane Maria recovery phase on Oct. 6, 2017. Coast Guard News / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Biden administration plans to release $1.3 billion in delayed aid for Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts after 2017’s Hurricane Maria.

The aid is also meant to help protect the island against future climate disasters. The federal government will also remove Trump-era restrictions on an additional $4.9 billion in aid to Puerto Rico. The funds are part of a $20 billion package that Congress gave to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

The New York Times reports less than 1% of the money has been disbursed.

The people of Puerto Rico are American citizens — our recovery efforts should be the same for them as they are for any other state.

Thank you @POTUS for removing the restrictions on these funds, which have been needed since Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. https://t.co/nLsSqZLYQW

— Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) February 2, 2021

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