Editorial: Puerto Rico Is Part of America; Treat It as Such

Bipartisan legislation that creates a federal oversight board to prevent Puerto Rico from falling into an economic abyss may have the added benefit of putting some distance between congressional Republicans and Donald Trump, their party's presumptive presidential nominee, whose mercurial outbursts attacking immigrants repulse many Latin American citizens, according to an editorial today from The Philadelphia Inquirer. Puerto Rico's fiscal issues sound similar to the problems that led Harrisburg to file for bankruptcy in 2011. Puerto Rico, however, isn't a municipality, which means bankruptcy laws aren't applicable to the territory. But it isn't an independent country, either, which means it can't seek aid from the International Monetary Fund. The House bill gives the U.S. territory the ability to restructure its debt and creates an oversight board appointed by the president and Congress, which will have the authority to audit the government's books and enforce balanced budgets. No bailout money is involved; the oversight board's costs will be covered by the Puerto Rican government over 10 years.