Puerto Rico's governor confirmed yesterday that his administration recently pursued a proposal to request that the U.S. Congress allow the island's heavily indebted government to declare bankruptcy amid an economic crisis, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla's public acknowledgement of the proposal comes as the U.S. territory struggles with $72 billion in public debt amid a nearly decade-long economic slump. Garcia said that he has since rejected the proposal in favor of the current push to get rules that would allow only Puerto Rico's public agencies to file for bankruptcy under chapter 9. A U.S. House committee is studying the issue amid growing concerns about the government's ability to repay its debt. Declaring complete bankruptcy for the whole island government would not have been good for Puerto Rico, Garcia said. Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, criticized Garcia for pursuing such a proposal in private. "It's an irresponsible move that greatly damages Puerto Rico's image before Congress and the financial markets," Pierluisi said.
