A group of House Democrats on Friday introduced a long-shot bill that would overhaul the federal government’s relationship with Puerto Rico, allow an independent audit of the commonwealth’s billions in debt and give local authorities the power to discharge unsecured debt deemed excessive, Bloomberg News reported. The proposal by House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and other lawmakers would make sweeping changes to the Puerto Rico financial rescue law, known as Promesa. But it’s unlikely to find much support in the Republican-controlled Senate if it makes it out of the House. Among its key provisions: The bill defines the commonwealth’s public health care, education, safety and pensions as essential public services, making it harder for them to be cut by the federal board that oversees the territory’s finances. It also guarantees funding for the University of Puerto Rico and requires the federal government to finance the operation of the oversight board. The bill amends the Promesa Act, which was passed in 2016 as the U.S. commonwealth staggered under $120 billion in debt and unfunded pension obligations. That law created the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board, a federally appointed body that’s supposed to help restructure the island’s debts as it pursues a form of bankruptcy.
