Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Hillary Clinton Pushes 'Fair Shot' For Debt-Saddled Puerto Rico


Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called on Congress and the Obama administration to give Puerto Rico "a fair shot at success" as it struggles with crushing debt.

In a statement, Clinton argued that Puerto Rico, which faces $72 billion in public debt, should be given the option to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which - as a commonwealth - it's currently barred from doing.

"The challenge is multi-faceted, and will ultimately require Puerto Rico to find a way to pay back its debtors in an orderly fashion," she said. "As a first step, Congress should provide Puerto Rico the same authority that states already have to enable severely distressed government entities, including municipalities and public corporations, to restructure their debts under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code."

Last month, Puerto Rico's governor said that the island's debt "is not payable."

"This is not politics, this is math," he told the New York Times.

Full article available here: Puerto Rico's Debt Crisis

Source: NBC News 

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