Rep. Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, is trying to bring together those competing interests, with a hearing set for Wednesday on legislation that would create a financial control board for Puerto Rico.
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Sean Duffy, R-Wis., released a new draft of compromise legislation to create a tough new financial control board for the territory.
Some Republicans in Congress are spreading the false conceit that legislation allowing Puerto Rico to restructure its debts amounts to a Washington bailout.
Utah Rep. Rob Bishop – who leads the House Natural Resources Committee – says Puerto Rico’s financial woes will become much worse when the USA territory fails to make debt payments in less than a month. Republicans agree on the urgency of the matter, but they have faced opposition from within their own caucus and from Democrats.
Weiss pointed to four issues that he said lawmakers need to improve.
Many House Republicans are still balking over concerns that the revised bill will weaken the control board’s authority in an effort to overcome Democratic objections, said a lobbyist opposed to the measure who received a preview of the bill. But they said when introducing the latest draft that they were aiming to avoid a “colonialist” approach.
Should cat ownership be limited at three per household? . Pelosi had rejected the previous version, saying it would exert “undue and undemocratic control” over the territory.
H.R. 4900 establishes an oversight board to work with Puerto Rico’s government to reform and manage its government’s finances.
The Republican bill “imposes an unworkable, mandatory process” on debt restructurings “that will only delay the ability to reach a comprehensive resolution”, Treasury Department Counselor Antonio Weiss told a congressional panel.
In an attempt to satisfy conservatives, the new draft would give creditors more of a say on a debt plan.
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The House Republican Study Committee, a group of around 170 conservatives, had expressed concerns about the debt restructuring provisions. Texas Rep. Bill Flores, the group’s leader, said members “are encouraged that there appear to be some improvements”. “Just as important for the long term, this bill protects American taxpayers from bailing out Puerto Rico”. But when it was clear they were seriously asking members of the Committee to stand aside so the bill could pass without amendment or vote, I strongly objected along with some other members. But House Republican aides acknowledge that they also have work to do on their side of the aisle, especially in convincing some of their more conservative members that a Puerto Rico aid bill is needed.
