Ranking Member Grijalva Formally Requests Hearing on Hedge Funds’ Role in Puerto Rico Financial Crisis Following Recent Report
Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asked Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) in a letter today to hold a hearing on the role of hedge funds in Puerto Rico’s ongoing financial crisis. The request comes less than a month after Grijalva and his staff published a Sept. 4 report, “Profit at Any Cost,” highlighting some hedge funds’ role in damaging the territory’s economy.
As reported by Bloomberg and other outlets, the report noted multiple warnings issued by professional ratings agencies about Puerto Rican bond offerings, and how some hedge funds ignored those warnings. Their continued demands for service cuts for the people of Puerto Rico and their opposition to extending Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection to the territory have created substantial roadblocks to economic recovery – issues Grijalva hopes to examine in a Committee hearing.
Today’s letter requesting such a hearing notes that some hedge funds’ actions, “while profitable, [are] reprehensible. A hearing that casts the spotlight on this gross inequity could help Puerto Rico on the path to recovery.” The Republican majority has been largely silent on the issue despite the Committee having jurisdiction over Puerto Rico and other American territories.
As Grijalva writes, “Hedge funds bought up Puerto Rican debt when it was high risk thinking it was a good investment, despite experts warnings to the contrary. Rather than absorbing the occasional investment losses that are expected as a matter of course when assessments are wrong, even by the most successful investing firms, these hedge funds are now working to pad their profits by cutting off relief options for families in the territory.”
Grijalva will discuss the report, today’s letter and the future of Puerto Rico at a briefing this afternoon hosted by Jubilee USA. You can read the letter at http://1.usa.gov/1KLKKOm.
Today’s Event Details
Wednesday, Sept. 30
House Rayburn Building
2 Constitution Ave. NE
Room 2456
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Opening Prayer
Welcome: Representative Linda Sánchez
Chairwoman, Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Keynote: The Most Reverend Archbishop Roberto González Nieves
Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Panelist: Representative Raúl M. Grijalva
Ranking Member, House Committee on Natural Resources
Panelist: Reverend Heriberto Martínez Rivera
General Secretary, Puerto Rico Bible Society
Panelist and Moderator: Eric LeCompte
Executive Director, Jubilee USA Network
Press Contact
Media Contact: Adam Sarvana
(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626
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