Secretary‑designate Luis A. Martínez Román presents Department of Housing FY2027 budget and asks for larger elderly rental subsidy

Luis Augusto Martínez Román, secretary‑designate of Puerto Rico’s Department of Housing, told the House Finance Committee on April 16 that the agency’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2027 totals about $3.29 billion and is driven primarily by federal program funds. He told legislators the department will continue intensive oversight of federally funded recovery projects to avoid expirations tied to federal deadlines.

Martínez Román said the recommended appropriation concentrates the increase in federal funds while the general‑fund portion falls slightly (he cited a roughly $380,000 reduction in the general‑fund line). He outlined the department’s regional presence in 10 areas of the island and said the agency employs 694 people, of whom 232 are charged to the general fund and 462 to federal funds.

Why it matters: the bulk of the budget is federal money that carries statutory requirements and expiration dates. Martínez Román warned that several large recovery programs have hard federal timelines and said the department is performing daily follow‑up with municipalities, subrecipients and federal partners to avoid losing funds.

Martínez Román focused attention on the rental subsidy for older adults administered under Law 173 of 1996. He said the budget recommended only $2.387 million for that program but asked the committee to seek an adjustment to $12.5 million, a level he said would align the appropriation with the program’s operational needs and the statute’s funding mechanics (annual fixed allocation plus up to 15% of net lottery receipts). "Esta cifra responde a una proyección realista de la necesidad programática," he said.

The secretary also detailed the department’s requests for state match (pareos) for federal grants, including a $1,585,000 request to cover required matches across several federal programs and a cited $393,000 match related to a ~$1.5 million federal award that requires 25% state match.

On federal recovery funds, Martínez Román reviewed the department’s stewardship of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs and CDBG‑DR (disaster recovery) funds for Hurricanes Irma and María. He traced the grant chronology, referenced multiple substantial amendments to the action plan and said the agency will continue to specialize in project monitoring to meet expirations (he cited 2029 and 2033 as key deadlines for certain programs).

Committee members pressed for line‑item clarifications and district project status. The secretary accepted requests to provide detailed project lists and district breakdowns within five days.

What’s next: the committee will use the department’s submissions as input when the governor’s formal budget reaches the legislature on May 8. Legislators signaled they will follow up on the Law 173 funding shortfall and on the department’s schedules for obligated and unspent federal projects.