Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles

Congressional Hearing Examines Puerto Rico Debt Crisis

by Greg Williams Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2016 at 1:31 PM
communications@jubilee.usa.org

The US House of Representatives held its second hearing on Puerto Rico's debt crisis this year. The hearing focused on potential legislative solutions including bankruptcy protection and an economic oversight board

Washington DC - The US House of Representatives held its second hearing on Puerto Rico's debt crisis this year. The hearing focused on potential legislative solutions including bankruptcy protection and an economic oversight board. At the hearing, Puerto Rico Congressperson Pedro Pierluisi announced that the Natural Resources Committee will draft legislation to address the crisis based on independent oversight and bankruptcy.

Former Washington DC mayor, Anthony Williams and Eric LeCompte, head of the religious development group Jubilee USA, were among the experts who testified to twelve Members of Congress on the Committee. "This hearing is exactly the type of attention this crisis needs," stated LeCompte. "It was a constructive conversation and now it's critical that Congress acts."

The hearing, "The Need for the Establishment of a Puerto Rico Financial Stability and Economic Growth Authority," took place in the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs within the Committee on Natural Resources. Beyond the testimony provided by former DC Mayor Williams and Jubilee Director LeCompte, statements were heard from ‎Carlos Garcia, Former Chairman and President of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico; Professor Simon Johnson, Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; and Thomas Moers Mayer, Partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, LLP.

Two pieces of legislation would grant Puerto Rico's municipal entities access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. One of those bills, introduced by Republican Sean Duffy, would also create an economic oversight board to monitor the island's finances.

"A bankruptcy process and budget transparency are both critical to a solution for Puerto Rico." LeCompte commented.

LeCompte noted the impact of self-imposed austerity on the island, including cuts to health spending as the Zika virus now spreads in Puerto Rico. Some special education teachers are now not being paid and the island may not be able to fulfill pension obligations. Puerto Rico owes $72 billion in total debt and it's debt per person ratio is six times the median average of US states.

"The situation on the island is grave," stated LeCompte, who works with religious leaders representing more than 95% of the island's population. "Austerity isn't the answer, Puerto Rico can't cut or tax its way to economic growth."


Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee's mission is to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy