The House Natural Resources Committee is pressing forward with a bill to help Puerto Rico restructure its debt obligations by scheduling a vote that is likely to take place on May 25.
The committee will meet on Tuesday evening for opening remarks on the measure and then proceed with amendment debate and voting on Wednesday morning. The committee has postponed previous votes on Puerto Rico legislation because of opposition among its members.
The new measure, H.R. 5278, has been carefully negotiated by Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) among skeptical Republicans who are worried about using taxpayer dollars to help Puerto Rico and Democrats, who want to make sure the residents of the island don’t suffer from municipal cutbacks. Puerto Rico owes almost $70 billion in debt that it has said it won’t be able to repay on its current schedule.
The legislation would establish a fiscal oversight board to help the island manage its finances and set up a process whereby Puerto Rico’s creditors distribute some of the losses that would avoid a total default.
The bill also includes language clarifying the fiscal oversight board’s authority to protect prioritized payments to bondholders. Those payments are required by the commonwealth’s constitution.
Fawn Johnson
House Committee to Vote on Puerto Rico Bill Next Week
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