Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is asking Republicans to set up a task force to reach a deal on Puerto Rico's financial crisis, The Hill reported today. The Democratic leader sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) asking that he work with Democrats to create a panel of approximately six to eight senators who would be responsible for coming up with legislation by the end of February. "I am confident that six weeks is sufficient to form a bipartisan Senate Task Force on Puerto Rico, negotiate a legislative package that includes a debt restructuring component, and ultimately bring this comprehensive proposal before the Senate," Reid wrote in the letter, which was released on Tuesday. Lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement on how to tackle the island territory's growing debt crisis, after the issue wasn't included in an end-of-the-year spending bill. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) pledged that the House would take action in early 2016. Senate Democrats have, separately, introduced legislation to protect Puerto Rico from creditors until March 31, Ryan's deadline. But Democrats also want Puerto Rico to be given access to bankruptcy courts so that it can restructure its debt, an idea that has gained pushback from key Republicans, including Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the Finance Committee. Read more.
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For more news and analysis of Puerto Rico's debt crisis, be sure to visit ABI's "Puerto Rico in Distress" webpage.
