FOXNEWS.COM -  In an interview with Geraldo Riviera in San Juan, P.R., Governor Fortuño addresses his willingness to help regarding the border struggles between the U.S. and Mexico.  Watch Video on FoxNews.com

Washington, D.C. –Governor Luis Fortuño today used his meetings with the White House Health Czar and key Senators from both political parties to highlight the reasons why Puerto Rico must be included in any national health care reform effort. President Obama, who emphasized his commitment to reform repeatedly in his prime time press conference Tuesday evening, has publicly pledged to include Puerto Rico in his proposal to reform the nation’s health care system.

“Every American should have access to affordable health care coverage for themselves and their families, and the four million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico are no exception,” said Gov. Fortuño. “The President has made this message clear and I reiterated Puerto Rico’s support for his vision when I met with the new White House Health Czar, as well as three top Senators on the Finance Committee earlier today,” he continued.

Fortuño met with a number of top White House staff, including Health Czar Nancy-Ann DeParle; the Head of the Office of Management and Budget ‘s Health Desk, Keith Fontenot; Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Heather Higgenbottom; and, the Director of White House Intergovernmental Affairs, Cecilia Muñoz. He also traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with top Senators on the Finance Committee, which will play a major role in the consideration of health reform. These meetings with Senators from the Republican and Democrat parties included Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

‘If the goal is to use existing government health programs as building blocks for reform that includes all Americans, limitations on Puerto Rico’s full participation in the federal health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare must be eliminated. Otherwise Puerto Rico does not start on a level playing field with everyone else,” commented the Governor.

The Obama Administration included $634 billion for health care reform in the proposed budget it delivered to Capitol Hill last month. This dollar figure was referred to as a “down payment” on revamping the system. The President repeated his commitment to reform on Tuesday during his televised news conference. He made the case that an investment in expanding access to health care now, including a larger role for the federal government, will help tackle the growing deficit and slow growth in Medicare and Medicaid spending in the long-term.

Governor Fortuño was in Washington, D.C., attending the Government Leaders Forum of the Americas where he gave a keynote speech to representatives of the international community highlighting his action plan to transform Puerto Rico’s information technology infrastructure.

Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, today signed into law three bills to stabilize the government’s difficult fiscal situation and jumpstart the island’s economic development.

“The time has come. We must act now, courageously, reaffirming our values, setting aside any political differences and working together for the people of Puerto Rico. Our families deserve good government, a government that serves our people with respect and discipline, always. We will act with sensibility and commitment, having always in mind that our overriding consideration must be the well-being of our people”, Governor Fortuño said.

Among the bills approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by the Governor today is the Special Law on the Fiscal Emergency (“LESEF”, by its Spanish acronym), which addresses the severe fiscal crisis currently confronted by the Government of Puerto Rico. The law provides for additional revenue generation measures—some temporary and some permanent,—sets forth a cost reduction plan and provides for a number of financial initiatives that will allow the government to come out of its present fiscal crisis, eliminating its recurrent budget deficit in four years. The revenue generation measures include an additional 5 percent surcharge on corporate income tax applicable to all companies, including banks, insurance companies, and international banking entities, among other temporary measures. An increase in the currently applicable tax on cigarettes, wine and beer is the only permanent general consumption-based tax included in the law and is specifically earmarked to pay for the government’s health plan for the indigent.

Meanwhile, the Local Economic Stimulus Plan (PEEC, by its Spanish acronym) provides $500 million to stimulate the island’s economy and counter the potentially recessive effect of the fiscal measures implemented as part of the Economic and Fiscal Reconstruction Plan. The PEEC—which complements the federal economic stimulus package—will give priority to the construction of infrastructure works that will result in the immediate creation of new jobs. The PEEC will make available new loans for small and medium local businesses that may be risking shutdown do to a cash flow shortage. The plan will also provide benefits to allow applicable homeowners to reduce their monthly payment, either through lowering the applicable interest rate or extending the term of the loan. The law also establishes a new fund to help eligible families obtain a new or existing home through a $25 thousand or a $10 thousand incentive, respectively.

Finally, the Federal Economic Stimulus Law sets forth a mechanism at the local state level to optimize and expedite the flow of some $5 billion in federal funds that have been assigned to Puerto Rico as part of the federal economic stimulus packaged pushed for by President Barack Obama. Among other things, that package provides $40 million for job retraining and relocation programs that will be complemented by the $15 million provided for under the PEEC to facilitate a worker’s transition to a new job.

The Governor expressed confidence that these laws will foster the changes that will strengthen the local economy and restore Puerto Rico’s competitive capacity at the global level.

“I’m more than certain that through the enactment of these laws we will come out of the present crisis stronger than before and Puerto Rico will, for the first time in years, face the world with the self-assurance of a growing economy and a healthier, better educated and more productive people”, Fortuño said.

“I have not doubt that if we follow this plan, together we will be able to rebuild Puerto Rico. With the effort and dedication of all of us, Puerto Rico shall rise again. We will recuperate the economic and fiscal stability that we need in order to grow and foster our people’s prosperity…together we will again have a productive Puerto Rico”, the governor concluded.

BLOOMBERG.COM - Puerto Rico is taking the right steps to preserve its investment-grade credit rating with a deficit-reduction plan expected to be enacted this week, said Horacio Aldrete-Sanchez, an analyst for Standard & Poor’s Corp.

Governor Luis Fortuno, a Republican who took office Jan. 2, last week proposed shrinking a projected $3.2 billion 2009 budget shortfall by cutting 30,000 public jobs; ending some business tax credits; raising some company and personal taxes, and pumping federal and local stimulus funds into the economy. Read the Article on Bloomberg.com

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Honorable Luis G. Fortuño, inspects the Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) during his first official function as Commander in Chief.  The inspection was part of the Change of Command ceremony held at Camp Santiago Training Center, Salinas, on February 28.  During the ceremony the governor addressed more than 8,000 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen and thanked them for their service to the nation.  The Governor is accompanied by incoming commander Brigadier General Antonio J. Vicens  and outgoing commander Major General David Carrion Baralt. The PRNG is comprised of approximately 10,000 men and women serving in the Army, Air and State Guard.  More than 8,000 have served in the Global War on Terrorism, and approximately 400 are currently deployed.

Veteran publicist hailed as “go-getter” in region’s Puerto Rican community

The Government of Puerto Rico’s New York regional office has a new director. “I am delighted to appoint Luis Balzac as director of our New York regional office,” announced Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) Executive Director Richard Figueroa.

“Luis brings to this position an exceptional combination of talent and skills in intergovernmental relations, business development, marketing and public relations,” Figueroa said upon announcing the appointment. At the helm of PRFAA’s New York office, Balzac will support the implementation of the Government of Puerto Rico’s U.S. mainland agenda, as set forth by the island’s newly elected Governor, Luis Fortuño (R-PR).

“Our office will be working hard to promote a wide array of mutually beneficial initiatives between the island and stateside communities in this region,” said Balzac, who left the marketing and public relations firm he founded 10 years ago in order to return to public service. “Our mandate includes civic, cultural and economic development efforts that reverberate in tangible benefits for the people of Puerto Rico,” he noted.

Among his initial efforts, Balzac said he has already reached out to the Regional Conference of Puerto Rican Day Parades, and is meeting today with members of the New York Senate Hispanic Caucus. Balzac’s Manhattan office is shared with three other Puerto Rico public corporations with important U.S. mainland components: the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.

This is not Balzac’s first experience in public service. In the late 1990s, he served as Deputy Director of PRFAA’s New York office. PRFAA’s New York regional office covers the northeastern corridor of the United States, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, an area of the country with over 2 million citizens of Puerto Rican origin.