Post by bot on Apr 3, 2016 16:16:24 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on Draft Legislation to Address Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in response to the discussion draft of legislation released by Natural Resource Committee Republicans to address the debt crisis in Puerto Rico:
“It is critical that Congress act in a timely fashion to provide Puerto Rico with the ability to restructure its public debt in a way that alleviates the crisis and provides peace of mind to the people of the island that essential services will not be seriously reduced or eliminated. The discussion draft of legislation that Natural Resources Committee Republicans released today will need changes, but I appreciate that Chairman Bishop is making a serious effort to work with Democrats on reaching a bipartisan solution.
“As currently written, their draft legislation would create an oversight board with broad power to make decisions affecting the lives and livelihoods of the 3.5 million people living in Puerto Rico, who are American citizens, in a way that could undermine their ability to have a say in local policymaking through the democratic process. I hope Chairman Bishop and Committee Republicans will work with us over the coming days to finalize legislative language that addresses this and other shortcomings in the current draft so that we can move forward with bringing bipartisan legislation to the Floor when the House returns to session. I want to thank my Democratic colleagues Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Luis Gutiérrez, José Serrano, and others who have been working tirelessly to achieve progress toward fixing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis for their ongoing efforts.”