Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), who has balked at legislation that would let some Puerto Rico government agencies seek bankruptcy, said that he’s instead pushing for the creation of a federal board to advise the island on its finances, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Marino, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, said that the panel would be appointed by Congress and the Obama administration. He said that it would suggest how the territory could cut spending and take other steps — such as seeking an exemption from the minimum wage — to put an end to its chronic budget deficits and spur the economy. It wouldn’t take direct control. "Strictly advisory," he said. "This takes it out of the hands of the passions of the people of Puerto Rico." Read more.
For further developments on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, be sure to visit ABI’s “Puerto Rico in Distress” webpage.
