Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would essentially wipe out tens of billions of dollars of Puerto Rico’s $73 billion in outstanding debt, CNBC.com reported. The proposal, entitled the “U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018,” counts Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as co-sponsors. The bill “provides an avenue to comprehensive debt relief for Puerto Rico and other hurricane-ravaged U.S. territories so that they have a chance to get back on their feet,” according to the sponsors. The legislation would give Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories the choice to terminate nonpension debt loads if they meet “certain stringent criteria,” according to the bill. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) is planning to introduce a companion bill in the House in September. A U.S. territory would have to meet two of three criteria in order to qualify for the debt relief: be the recipient of major federal disaster assistance, have a population decline of 5 percent over 10 years or have per-capita debt exceeding $15,000.
