Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

A group of House Democrats on Friday introduced a long-shot bill that would overhaul the federal government’s relationship with Puerto Rico, allow an independent audit of the commonwealth’s billions in debt and give local authorities the power to discharge unsecured debt deemed excessive, Bloomberg News reported.

The coronavirus pandemic could cut Puerto Rico’s tax revenue by as much as $2 billion in fiscal year 2020, the commonwealth’s federal oversight board said Wednesday, the latest setback for efforts to restructure the commonwealth’s debt, Bloomberg News reported.

Puerto Rico’s government called for deeper cuts in debt repayment in light of the coronavirus pandemic’s severe economic impact, saying a $35 billion restructuring proposal from financial-oversight officials “is simply not feasible,” WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The U.S.

A U.S. judge ruled yesterday that bankrupt Puerto Rico cannot fund more than $300 million in annual pension and health costs for its municipalities, but suspended the effective date of the order for three weeks due to the ongoing coronavirus health crisis, Reuters reported. Puerto Rico’s federally created financial oversight board sued the U.S.