by Greg
Wednesday, May. 25, 2016 at 11:18 AM
The House Committee on Natural Resources voted 29-10 to approve Puerto Rico debt legislation for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
The House Committee on Natural Resources voted 29-10 to approve Puerto Rico debt legislation for consideration by the full House of Representatives. "PROMESA," or the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (HR 5278), provides tools for debt relief and establishes a fiscal oversight board.
"This legislation contains debt restructuring tools and mechanisms to prevent hold-out and vulture fund behavior," stated Eric LeCompte, who testified to Congress on the legislation and is the executive director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA. "This bill is not perfect and it is not the ultimate solution, but we hope it motivates Puerto Rico's government and creditors to negotiate a good faith agreement."
The committee rejected amendments that would have weakened or delayed the bill's debt restructuring process. An amendment related to minimum wage provisions in PROMESA was not considered and may be voted on by the full House of Representatives, which will debate the bill next.
"We were able to stop attempts in the markup process to harm the debt restructuring tools," said LeCompte. "We won't see economic growth on the island until the debt is restructured."
Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds 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