Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello flew to New York this week on a mission: persuade potential tourists that the hurricane-ravaged island was ready for their return, the New York Times reported. But Puerto Rico's recovery from last year’s Hurricane Maria has been a “mixed bag,” Rossello told Reuters yesterday, acknowledging that the bankrupt U.S. territory, while improving, is far from out of the woods. Puerto Rico has received only a small fraction of the federal funding it needs to get back on its feet, Rossello said, and getting access to the rest could take more than a decade. His administration estimates that fixing Puerto Rico fully will require $139 billion, but the federal government has earmarked only about $60 billion to $65 billion for the recovery, he said. Of that, only about $3 billion to $4 billion has actually flowed into the island’s coffers. Obtaining the remainder could take 10 to 11 years, he said, adding that his team is lobbying the U.S. Congress for more money. Compounding the problem is Puerto Rico's bankruptcy in U.S. federal court, where it is trying to restructure $120 billion of debt and pension obligations. There are also ongoing spending disputes between the government and a federally appointed fiscal oversight board.
