Biden urged to end Trump lawsuit blocking payments to Puerto Ricans

2021-02-16T134523Z_2_LYNXMPEH1F0Z0_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-BIDEN-1024×873-1

By Andrea Shalal, Reuters

Top faith leaders from across the United States on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to immediately withdraw a lawsuit filed by his predecessor to block $2.3 billion in supplemental income payments to some 300,000 aged, blind and disabled Puerto Ricans.

Catholic Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan, the head of Catholic Charities USA, and leaders from other churches also called on Biden to use executive orders and back congressional action to attract more pharmaceutical and other manufacturing jobs to the Caribbean island, a U.S. territory of 3.2 million people hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.