[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 103 (Monday, June 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4569-S4570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUERTO RICO
Mr. NELSON. Madam President, this week the Senate is going to
consider legislation dealing with the crisis in Puerto Rico. The
legislation before us, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and
Economic Stability Act, has already passed the House by a vote of 297
to 127. We are taking it up this week because Puerto Rico needs help.
They have needed help for quite a while, but now we are running out of
time to help that island territory of the United States, with 3.5
million American citizens living there.
Last week, I spoke to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Governor Alejandro
Garcia Padilla. He explained just how dire the situation is in Puerto
Rico.
On July 1, a $2 billion debt payment is due. That is just a few days
from now. There is no way Puerto Rico can make that payment; they don't
have the cash. When they don't make that payment, there will be a race
to the courthouse to see which hedge fund will sue Puerto Rico first
and squeeze out whatever money is left on the island, even if it comes
at the expense of the 3.5 million American citizens living there today.
Hedge funds have already filed for injunctive relief in the Southern
District of New York. In their court documents, they state that they
should be paid first in times of scarcity, even ahead of what the
government needs for essential services--essential services such as
schools, hospitals, law enforcement. In our conversation, the Governor
told me that if the hedge funds are granted injunctive relief, then he
is not going to be able to pay the salaries of law enforcement and
other first responders.
This isn't abstract; this is real. Hospitals have already closed. The
Secretary of the Treasury, Jacob Lew, earlier cited in a letter that
hospitals can only order dialysis treatments for premature newborns in
intensive care. How? Only if they pay cash on demand daily. Let me
repeat that. They are so strapped that hospitals can only order the
dialysis that is essential for life for premature newborns who are in
intensive care--they can only order it if they are paid in cash for
that dialysis on a daily basis.
This legislation the House has crafted is certainly not the bill I
would have crafted, but it is the only bill we have before us that
could get by the tea party element in the House of Representatives. It
is not ideal, particularly with regard to the labor provisions in the
bill and the way the oversight board is organized.
We will hear bipartisan attacks against the bill in the Senate, well
meaning and well felt, but this legislation is needed to get Puerto
Rico out of this immediate crisis. Several of us would like to see more
in the bill to address the health care disparities in Puerto Rico and
the lack of economic growth on the island, but, as Governor Padilla has
said, if someone is holding you up at gunpoint and says ``Your wallet
or your life,'' you are going to hand him your wallet because the
alternative is worse.
That is where we are. We have to compromise. That is the nature of
Congress. That is how the Framers set it up. That is how we get things
done. We don't get the perfect, the ideal; we have too many other
opinions to consider when we put legislation together.
If we pass this legislation, once we get out of this immediate
crisis, then all of us must work as hard as we can to push for
solutions for some of the other long-term problems Puerto Rico has.
This isn't the end; it is just the beginning. At the same time, we
should not look past the achievements in this bill. At the end of the
day, this is why this Senator comes down on the side of supporting this
legislation. It provides for an orderly process for Puerto Rico to
adjust all of its debts, including its general obligation bonds. Those
are the bonds held by the hedge funds that are asking for injunctive
relief, that they be the ones to get the money first, looking to
squeeze the life out of the territory. They are the ones that ran all
those ads saying this bill was a bailout. Have you seen those ads?
Isn't it interesting that they are the only ones who have the money to
run ads saying it is a bailout. Who is paying for the ads? The hedge
funds that hold the bonds because they want their money first, to the
exclusion of essential services on the island. Well, this is not a
bailout. It doesn't spend any taxpayer money. But it has the hedge
funds on Wall Street running scared because they know that if this
passes, they won't be able to get special treatment and they won't be
able to starve Puerto Rico of its vital resources.
Just consider the suffering going on in Puerto Rico. Nearly 200
schools have closed. Public transportation services have been cut.
Payments to gasoline suppliers have been delayed, causing vendors to
stop supplying gasoline to emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire
trucks. Schools have had to cut services to special needs kids. Eighty
percent of the businesses in San Juan's main business district have
closed.
This isn't something we can continue to debate ad infinitum. Real
people are suffering now. Every day we go without providing some sort
of relief, more harm is done to the people of Puerto Rico. We are out
of time. We need to act. And this bill is the only bill moving. I ask
my colleagues to support the bill and send it to the President as soon
as possible because, as the Governor said, the alternative is worse.
Might I also add that since this Senator comes from a part of the
country--Florida, Central Florida, the Orlando area--where there is
such a concentration of citizens who have moved from the island--there
is one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the United
States right in the Orlando area. What is happening is that as the
island deteriorates as far as all of its essential services--doctors
can't get paid, the people do not have the essential services for life,
the health, welfare, and happiness of people--what is happening is that
the professional people are picking up roots and moving to the mainland
United States. A good number of them are coming to my State. We are
glad to have them, but look what is happening: The very people who will
help Puerto Rico come out of this financial and health care crisis--by
the way, with Zika piled on top of it, with huge percentages of the
population already infected with the Zika virus, that is all the more
compounding the problems of the people of the island. This is why we
have to act.
I have a letter from the Department of the Treasury to our majority
leader--from the Secretary of the Treasury--that outlines some of the
island's medical woes, talking about the island's doctors in the
neonatal intensive care unit. In order to get the drugs for dialysis,
they have to get cash every day in order to deliver those services.
I also have Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla's letter to me, stating
why he supports the legislation. I might also say that another Member
of the Government--the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives,
whom we call Congressman Pedro Pierluisi and is of a different party
than the Governor--likewise strongly supports this legislation.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record those two
letters.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Department of the Treasury,
Washington, DC, June 27, 2016.
Hon. Mitch McConnell,
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Leader: Puerto Rico is in crisis, and its only
hope for recovery and growth is legislation that authorizes
the tools necessary for better fiscal management and a
sustainable level of debt. Early in June, the House passed a
compromise bill, with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, that
will give Puerto Rico the tools to recover without any
federal spending. The Senate should take up the matter
immediately. Delay will only jeopardize the ability of
Congress to conclude its work before July 1, a critical
deadline Puerto Rico's leadership has publicly highlighted
for months.
On July 1--only four days from now--the crisis in Puerto
Rico will ratchet up to an even higher level. Puerto Rico has
$2 billion in debt payments coming due that day, including
payments on constitutionally prioritized debt on which Puerto
Rico has not previously defaulted. In the event of default,
and if creditor lawsuits are successful, a judge could
immediately order Puerto Rico to pay creditors over essential
services such as health, education, and public safety. This
could force Puerto Rico to lay off police officers, shut down
public transit, or close a hospital. Even a retroactive stay
on litigation passed by Congress a few days later would not
reverse such a court order. This is one of many reasons
Congress must act before July 1. Creditors are hoping to gain
the protection of legal judgments as quickly as possible,
[[Page S4570]]
and this could impair Puerto Rico's chances of getting on a
path to stability and eventual growth.
The people of Puerto Rico are already suffering, as I saw
firsthand on my most recent visit there. About 80 percent of
businesses have closed in the Plaza de Diego, once the heart
of San Juan's business district. Doctors at the island's only
neonatal intensive care unit described how they can order
dialysis treatment for premature newborns only if they pay
cash-on-demand daily for lifesaving drugs. While we do not
know the full ramifications if Congress fails to act before
the end of the month, we know for certain that it is the 3.5
million American citizens who live in Puerto Rico who will be
further harmed.
Congress must do more in the future to address long-term
economic growth and Medicaid inequalities in Puerto Rico, but
doing nothing now to end the debt crisis will result in a
chaotic, disorderly unwinding with widespread consequences.
Some well-funded creditors are working hard to delay
legislative action this week, even if it comes at the expense
of the Puerto Rican people. I urge Republicans and Democrats
to come together in the Senate as you have before to help our
fellow citizens, and get a bipartisan bill to the President's
desk before July 1.
Sincerely,
Jacob J. Lew.
____
Estado Libre Asociado de
Puerto Rico Gobernador,
San Juan, PR, June 22, 2016.
Hon. Bill Nelson,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Nelson: I write to request that you vote in
favor of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic
Stability Act (PROMESA) before the end of the month. On July
1, 2016, more than $1 billion in general obligations and
Commonwealth guaranteed bonds are due. We do not have the
cash to make those payments. A default of that magnitude,
without the automatic stay granted by PROMESA, will affect
our ability to pay our public workers, including police,
nurses and therapists for special needs children.
For more than a year we have been requesting Congress to
provide us the tools we need to restructure all the debt. The
House of Representatives passed PROMESA, which provides
Puerto Rico a solution to its decade-long economic crisis.
Although imperfect and intrusive to Puerto Rico's autonomy,
it is the only alternative available to reach a sustainable
level of debt. PROMESA also protects us from all creditor
litigation. The fiscal crisis we inherited does not leave us
any options.
The 3.5 million United States citizens on the island are
threatened by a debt crisis that can disrupt essential public
services such as health, security and education. As Governor,
I am responsible for protecting the safety and well-being of
the people of Puerto Rico. PROMESA is just the first step in
what will be Puerto Rico's long road to recovery. I urge you
to approve PROMESA before July 1st, 2016.
Sincerely,
Alejandro J. Garcia-Padilla,
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I will close by saying that we can't let
these people dangle there anymore. We have to come to the aid of our
fellow American citizens. Let's remember that when it comes to time of
war, Puerto Rico provides some of the bravest military people we have.
Let's remember they serve this Nation honorably. Now let's try to help
them.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
____________________