Board certifies the Commonwealth’s 2021 Fiscal Plan amid the pandemic

On April 23, 2021, the Financial Oversight and Management Board certified the 2021 Fiscal Plan for Puerto Rico (“Restoring Growth and Prosperity”). The PDF disclaimer is explicit: this fiscal plan is not a Title III Plan of Adjustment; it does not classify claims, discharge debts or extinguish liens.

The opening text places Puerto Rico after hurricanes, earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic, and notes that the federal response — including more than $100 billion in disaster-recovery and COVID-19 response funds — opens a window for reforms. Before PROMESA, the Commonwealth projected annual structural deficits exceeding $7 billion, or $3 billion before debt service.

On restructuring, the plan reports that a portion of outstanding debt totaling $27 billion had already been completed, and that Plan Support Agreements had been announced for $35 billion in claims and more than $50 billion in pension liabilities. That describes agreements and work in progress — not judicial confirmation of the Commonwealth PoA, which would come in 2022.

For the near term, the Board says it paused most fiscal measures in FY2021 so agencies could confront COVID-19. The plan assigns $400 million to incentivize broadband in underserved areas, $50 million to a technical and business education fund, and nearly $800 million (FY2022–FY2051) for civil-service reform. It cites health figures of ~97,713 cases and 2,113 COVID-19 deaths per the document’s source.

Projections, budget pauses and plan allocations are not line-by-line verified disbursements. Allocated is not disbursed; the plan does not invent a “theft” of the $100 billion in federal funds. Cousin: none versus later notes on the 2022 PoA. Primary: certified FOMB PDF, April 23, 2021 (AAFAF/docs.pr.gov repository).