Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Whatever Congress decides to do about Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis, it isn’t likely to happen soon enough to keep the island commonwealth from defaulting on $2 billion worth of general obligation bond payments that are due July 1, and the chances Congress will agree on a plan at all appear to be growing slimmer, according to an editorial on Sunday by the Desert (Utah) News.

The U.S. House plans to vote next week on a proposal to address Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, but it’s not clear the measure has enough support to pass despite the backing of Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Bloomberg News reported today.

Congress’s plan to throw a lifeline to Puerto Rico is making waves in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bloomberg News reported today. The measure that passed a House committee last week would allow for a federal control board to oversee the finances — and potentially restructure the debt — of any U.S. territory, even though Puerto Rico is the only one now asking for help.