[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9931-9933]
[From the U.S. 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

[[Page 9932]]

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, 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

[[Page 9933]]

     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.

                          ____________________