With great power comes great responsibility and under the U.S. Constitution, Congress is vested with the power to “make all needful rules and regulations respecting” territories of the United States, according to commentary from Reps. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and posted yesterday by the National Review.
Puerto Rico in Distress
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Holders of bonds from Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank are suing to challenge aspects of a debt-moratorium law that island officials say is crucial to maintaining essential services as the U.S. territory struggles under a nearly $70 billion debt load, Fox News reported yesterday. The amended federal lawsuit filed late Friday in the U.S.
House Republicans and Democrats have reached a deal with the White House to try to rescue Puerto Rico from $70 billion in debt as millions of Americans in the cash-strapped U.S. territory struggle with the loss of basic services, ABC News reported yesterday. A revised House bill would create a board to help manage the territory's financial obligations and restructure some debt.
Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday introduced a new measure aimed at giving Puerto Rico the tools to restructure about $70 billion in debt, MorningConsult.com reported today. The legislation — H.R. 5278, sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) — includes several “minor” changes to the previous measure, H.R. 4900, according to Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah).
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The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico was created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and one ex officio member designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico. Access information on the Board, documents, videos of meetings, calendar of events and live webcasts by clicking here.