The chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources censured Puerto Rico’s federally-appointed oversight board yesterday over delays in the island’s debt restructuring, the latest sign of discord over how to fix the bankrupt, storm-ravaged U.S. territory, Reuters reported. In a letter to the board, which was created by U.S. Congress in 2016 to manage Puerto Rico’s finances, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said that it had not done enough to engage with Puerto Rico’s financial creditors on a massive debt restructuring, nor enforce much-needed structural reforms in Puerto Rico. “I remain frustrated with the oversight board’s inability and unwillingness to reach consensual restructuring agreements with holders of Puerto Rico’s debt,” he said. The island is navigating both the largest bankruptcy in U.S. government history, with $120 billion in combined bond and pension debt, and its worst natural disaster in 90 years in September’s Hurricane Maria. The storm killed dozens and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, while thousands of Puerto Rico’s 3.3 million residents remain without power more than six months later. Read more.
The people of Puerto Rico need your help. Thousands are still without regular power service, and many more need to rebuild their homes. Please join the ABI Endowment and the Mariano Rivera foundation for a charity benefit for Puerto Rico on April 4, 2018, at the New York Athletic Club.
