Press Releases

Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL09), today made the following statement about the lack of a method for Puerto Rico to enjoy bankruptcy relief in the 2015 Omnibus spending bill Congress will vote on Friday


There is good and bad news for Puerto Rico in the Omnibus spending bill that Congress will vote on this Friday.

The Onmibus finally brings Medicare payments for Puerto Rico’s hospitals to the same level as the rest of the United States. This adjustment, which I’ve been advocating for years, will ensure that hospitals in the Commonwealth will continue to provide crucial medical services to the poor on the island.

However, the Omnibus does not give the Commonwealth the right to declare bankruptcy and reorganize its debts like the rest of the country. Unfortunately, our congressional negotiators did not take this opportunity to right this wrong.

A nearly decade-long recession and staggering sums of looming debt have left the Puerto Rican economy in shambles. The island’s 3.5 million citizens have felt the effects of this financial crush so harshly that many have fled to the mainland.

The economic crisis in Puerto Rico will end only when Puerto Rico receives fair and equal treatment. Their government needs to enjoy the same economic protections, and the ability to deal with its hardships, as the rest of the nation. This basic right should have been included in the Omnibus.