Senate Dems Call For Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Protections
We told you last week how the Hispanic National Bar Association launched a Puerto Rico Task Force to help address the territory's economic crisis. Now we get to see how Congress perceives its role.
On Wednesday, a letter signed by all Senate Democrats was released; it urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to act on a Puerto Rico debt relief bill that allows the territory to declare bankruptcy. Appropriate restructuring tools are "the only way Puerto Rico can respond effectively and responsibly to this growing financial and social catastrophe,” wrote Senate Dems, according to the Hill.
On the Senate Floor, Democratic Leader Harry Reid emphasized that any bill without bankruptcy legislation constitutes an "abject failure." Though Democrats' stance is that Congress unintentionally left out the ability for territories to declare bankruptcy (which states can do), writes the Hill, Republicans argue that letting Puerto Rican agencies declare bankruptcy now would excuse years of fiscal mismanagement. [Hill]
