Ranking Member Grijalva’s Remarks on the Debt Crisis in Puerto Rico

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) delivered the following opening statement this morning at the Natural Resources Committee hearing on the “Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act,” also known as PROMESA Act (H.R. 4900), the Republican led bill that aims to address the island’s debt crisis.

“Thank you Mr. Chairman. Today we are continuing the process towards passing legislation to help the people of Puerto Rico deal with a humanitarian crisis because of over $70 billion in unpayable debt.

“It is worth stressing that we are here because the people of Puerto Rico need our help! Residents of Puerto Rico are struggling to receive basic services, with some hospitals now quite literally in the dark. On top of this, the Zika virus continues to ravage the island. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently stated that they are "quite concerned" about the U.S. territory and tourist destination Puerto Rico, stressing that one out of every four people in Puerto could host the Zika virus within a year."

“In the meantime, wealthy Wall Street hedge funds that hold Puerto Rican bonds are spending millions of dollars to spread misinformation in an effort to block congressional action. These vulture funds are now aggressively campaigning against a solution to help the island relieve some of its debt. They are more interested in padding their profits than ensuring the well-being of American families suffering in Puerto Rico.

“As Members of Congress, we have to decide who comes first – vulture funds and others who steadfastly refuse to join other investors in a good faith, compromise solution, or, the American people in Puerto Rico.

“The leadership of the House – Republicans and Democrats – has been working with Chairman Bishop and the Treasury Department to develop legislation that we can all support to provide Puerto Rico with the tools they will need to solve the crisis.

“Today we will be discussing the result of these bipartisan discussions and we are all hopeful that the bill as proposed will work. To quote Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew: "The question to us is does that bill’s restructuring authority work? It has to work or it's not going to be acceptable."

 “This will be one of the key questions we will look to our distinguished panel of witnesses to answer. While the bill contains a strong Oversight Board to ensure that Puerto Rico will make the tough decisions to get on a path of balanced budgets and sound fiscal practices, there are a number of other concerns we have about the bill and the process:

 We continue to insist that the Oversight Board should not impose further austerity, which will be counterproductive towards efforts to restore the island’s economy.

• We question the merit of authorizing the transfer of thousands of acres of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge away from the American people.
• We also stress, as the Treasury department does, that Puerto Rico will be unable to make any fiscal plan work going forward, without the Medicaid support that is called for in the Treasury proposal and that such assistance be provided to the smaller territories as well.
• That Puerto Rico’s underfunded pensions should not be raided to pay debt and that pensioners must be made whole.
• We cannot see the logic behind lowering the minimum wage to $4.25 an hour for the very group of people we need to stay on the island to anchor recovery.

 “Mr. Chairman you and your staff deserve to be commended for your willingness to work in an honest and forthright way to address the crisis in Puerto Rico. To that end I remain hopeful that we will be able to pass a bill out of the committee tomorrow that will enjoy the support of all members and I continue to pledge to work with you to realize this goal. The people of Puerto Rico deserve no less.” 

Press Contact

Media Contact: Diane Padilla

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 226-3522

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