Puerto Rico is taking steps to increase federal grants to the commonwealth.
Since fall 2013 the Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget has been working to create a Federal Funds Management Office. The office has been in operation since April, according to office director Carlos Rivas. However, it will take 24 months for the office to operate at full efficiency, he said.
Puerto Rico is behind all 50 states in its receipt of federal grant dollars per capita. It receives $259 per capita compared to the state median of $677 per capita.
In fiscal year 2015 Puerto Rico's government is proposing to budget $6.4 billion in federal funds for its consolidated budget of $28.1 billion. This does not include any increase due to the work of the new office, Rivas said.
Rivas is unsure about what improvement the office will make to the government's revenues. One possibility is $250 million per year, he said.
If Puerto Rico were to simply advance to the grants per capita level of the state ranked 50th in the country for grants per capita, Florida, it would gain an additional $530 million a year, Rivas said. If it could advance to the median level, it would get an additional $1.6 billion a year.
One of the goals of the office is to increase the government's revenues and reduce its deficit, Rivas said.
Several Puerto Rico government branches have applied in the past for grants and will continue to apply in the future for grants.
The new office is supposed to improve the commonwealth government's ability to find federal grants to promote economic development, advise on the grant application process, ensure coordination with the Puerto Rico government's Washington, D.C. office, and develop a training program for those applying for grants.
The office has seven professionals. It is led by Merril Oliver, who most recently was acting director of Maryland Governor's Grants Office.
She is "one of the most knowledgeable persons on the subject matter in the United States," Rivas said.
Oliver spent time observing the grants situation in Puerto Rico before accepting the job. Her acceptance of the job is "a testament to the potential that Merril sees in Puerto Rico," Rivas said.
The new office will seek other money from the federal government besides grants. Some of the money will go directly to residents, businesses and organizations, as well as to the government, Rivas said.
In fiscal year 2010 Puerto Rico in all forms (not just the government) received $23.5 billion in federal spending, grants, contracts, wages, and transfers and loans, according to Rivas. Of this 10% were loans. This is out of a $69.4 billion gross national product for the formal economy. Puerto Rico also has a large informal economy.
