Obama Seeks Broad Bankruptcy Power for Puerto Rico in Crisis
ByThe Puerto Rican Capitol building in San Juan. Puerto Rico is teetering under debt amassed from years of borrowing as the economy failed to grow and residents left for the U.S. mainland.
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Administration publishes roadmap to help island with debt
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U.S. supports independent fiscal oversight for Puerto Rico
President Barack Obama is pressing for Congress to give Puerto Rico sweeping powers to reduce its $73 billion debt burden through bankruptcy, escalating administration involvement as the Caribbean island’s access to cash dries up.
Puerto Rico would be provided with a form of bankruptcy protection not now available to American territories. Administration officials also called for lawmakers on Wednesday to increase health-care funding for Puerto Rico, extend tax credits to the poor and put independent oversight in place to monitor the government’s budget…
Obama Seeks Broad Bankruptcy Power for Puerto Rico in Crisis