Washington, D.C. Office

Washington, D.C. Office

We cannot neglect the role Washington D.C. plays in Puerto Rico’s affairs.

In 2016 all three branches of the federal government took action related to Puerto Rico.  The judicial branch, through two separate rulings issued by the U.S. Supreme Court, opined that Puerto Rico is not a sovereign territory and ultimately responds to the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress.  The legislative branch authored and voted for the Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) allowing the island to access a comprehensive restructuring process, under the purview of a seven-member oversight board.  Finally, the executive branch signed the law and subsequently appointed members to the oversight board.

It was evident this turning point underscored the need for a think tank dedicated to the island’s issues to be present in Washington D.C. and lend its voice to federal policymakers. CNE is doing just that, becoming the principal non-political voice from Puerto Rico and a resource for knowledge and information. It channels its expertise through distinguished analysis and fact-based advocacy. With its office in D.C., we expect to get the U.S. Congress, the executive branch and federal agencies to focus on the right issues and make progress for CNE’s only client: Puerto Rico.

The CNE D.C. Team

Rosanna Torres

Director, Washington D.C. Office

Rosanna returns to CNE after serving as the first Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Puerto Rico at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this role, she underscored and helped the agency address various issues impacting Puerto Rico, including language access limitations, disparate addressing standards, exclusion in critical data surveys and programs, and more. Importantly, her work fostered ongoing engagement with Puerto Rico, monitoring expenditures of billions of funding for disaster recovery, and providing a space for residents, small businesses, and community-based organizations to voice concerns.

During her first years at CNE, Rosanna effectively influenced Congress and the Executive to address Puerto Rico’s challenges, leading to substantial changes in federal law. Notably, she played a key role in the permanent authorization of a federal supplement to the local Earned Income Tax Credit, a policy studied by CNE since 2003, which promotes work and alleviates poverty. Among the other policy wins, the DC office was also successful in carrying through a generous Medicaid funding package in 2019. Her return signifies a renewed commitment to spreading deep knowledge and serious research across the federal government to help Puerto Rico thrive.

With a career dedicated to public service, Rosanna has held various roles within the federal government, including as Legislative Director for Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, Professional Staff Member in the House Small Business Committee, Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other roles at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the U.S Census Bureau, and the Office of Personnel Management.

Rosanna holds a master’s degree in International Commerce and Public Policy from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Statistics from the University of Puerto Rico.

Upcoming Federal Priorities for Puerto Rico

In this edition of Reading the DC Tea Leaves we present a list of upcoming federal policy issues that CNE will pursue over the coming years.

Puerto Rico: Highlights of the Build Back Better Bill

There is a lot of activity going on in Washington, D.C. these days. Back in August, the Senate approved a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. That bill, however, has been on hold in the House, as Democrats negotiated amongst themselves the contents of the Build Back Better ("BBB") bill. We are still combing through the text, but to keep you informed, we wanted to share some of the key points in the BBB bill regarding Puerto Rico as of today.

The American Rescue Plan Includes Proposal From CNE

Within his first week in office, President Biden laid out his priorities for the American Rescue Plan. The emergency legislation seeks to address the public health crisis and mitigate the nefarious effects of the COVID pandemic on individuals, schools, communities, and businesses.

2020 Funding Showdown

Last night President Trump took to Twitter to threaten with a Presidential veto the long-awaited COVID relief bill. The current short-term continuing resolution (CR) also expires next Tuesday, December 29, meaning that Congress has little time to make adjustments to the Covid relief bill.

PROMESA’s New Board

During the past couple of weeks, plenty has been inferred over the future composition of Puerto Rico’s new Financial Management and Oversight Board. In this post we shed some color on the appointments process and what is before the U.S. government at this time. 

Correcting Historically Discriminatory Policies Against Residents of U.S. Territories

For decades, Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories have been deprived of access to federal programs specifically designed to provide a safety net, break persistent poverty cycles and jumpstart the economy. These limitations unfairly discriminate against the residents of U.S. territories and perpetuate long-standing inequities. Three recent court decisions suggest discriminatory policies against the residents of U.S. territories will no longer stand.
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Additional Content from the D.C. Team

Upcoming Federal Priorities for Puerto Rico

In this edition of Reading the DC Tea Leaves we present a list of upcoming federal policy issues that CNE will pursue over the coming years.

Food Security for Puerto Rico Now

Congress should not make U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico wait to receive a fair portion of their daily bread until the next Farm Bill deliberations in 2028. The time for Congress to discharge its legal and moral obligations to Puerto Rico is now.

Healthcare Justice for Puerto Rico

It has become a bit of an end of year tradition: Congress is scrambling again to enact legislation to keep the federal government open. Unfortunately for the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, Congress is also scrambling to provide additional funding for the island’s Medicaid program and avoid a so-called “Medicaid cliff.”

El dilema político de Puerto Rico: una mirada hacia regiones sub-nacionales de Europa y América del Norte

Ponencia presentada por Jennifer Wolff en el Seminario “Sociedades atlánticas: Ayer y hoy” del Instituto de Historia-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicasen Madrid el 21-22 noviembre de 2022.

The Midterm Election and Its Implications for Puerto Rico

Election results in the U.S. midterm elections are still coming in as we write this CNE Review but the big picture is fairly clear. Adapting to the new political conditions in the U.S. is the only strategy likely to be successful in avoiding two years of stagnation and achieving some policy victories in Washington.

The Help Puerto Rico Needs

We believe the current confluence of events calls for President Biden to take bold action and order the creation of an entity similar to the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, which was created by President Obama under Executive Order 13632 of 7 December 2012.
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