Posts Categorized: Top Stories

Puerto Rico Bill Divisions Not Only Partisan

The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee’s hearing today on legislation to address the fiscal problems of government in Puerto Rico demonstrated the extent of differences among Republicans as well as between Democrats and Republicans on the measure, H.R. 4900, introduced late yesterday by Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI). Only four Republicans other than the… Read more »

Medicare Advantage Improvements for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s status as an unincorporated territory makes it possible for the federal government to treat Puerto Rico differently from the States. One of the areas in which this can easily be seen is in healthcare funding. Puerto Rico receives far less funding than it would if it were a State. For some months, Puerto… Read more »

US Senate Finance Chair Calls for Transparency and Good Faith Negotiations

  On Friday afternoon, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT),  spoke on the Senate floor critical of Democrats, the Obama Administration, and Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla (PDP) for the lack of progress in addressing Puerto Rico’s fiscal and economic problems. He recalled numerous information requests to U.S. Treasury Department Secretary Jacob Lew, Health and Human… Read more »

Is Puerto Rico a Country?

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.  Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. You don’t need a passport to fly to Puerto Rico from anywhere within the United States. The island is located within U.S. borders and uses U.S. currency.  Puerto Ricans have among the highest level of U.S. military service in the country. Yet… Read more »

Republican Presidential Candidates Talk About Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s Republican presidential primary will take place this Sunday.  Major leaders in Puerto Rico have endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has spoken up for Puerto Rico many times in Congress. Where do the candidates stand on Puerto Rico’s status? Ted Cruz released a statement in the run-up to the Republican Primaries in Puerto… Read more »

Rubio Endorsed by Puerto Rico Leaders

Presidential Candidate Marco Rubio was endorsed by Puerto Rico political leaders in advance of the March 6th Republican primary in the U.S. territory. Residents of Puerto Rico, although they are U.S. citizens, cannot vote in presidential elections. However, they can vote in the primaries. Puerto Rico sends 23 delegates to the Republican National Convention, and… Read more »

Manufacturing Jobs Soar, but Not in Puerto Rico

The manufacturing sector in the U.S added 29,000 jobs in January. January figures for Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector are not yet available, but as of December, 2015, Puerto Rico had lost 2.5% of manufacturing jobs for the year, slipping from 74,800 manufacturing jobs in July to 73,000 in December. Puerto Rico also has 12.2% unemployment,… Read more »

Two More Hearings on Puerto Rico Coming Up

Two more hearings on Puerto Rico are coming up, both on February 25th, 2016 and both at 10:00 a.m. “Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis and Its Impact on the Bond Markets” will be held by the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin.  Witnesses have not… Read more »

Jeb Bush: “If I was a Puerto Rican, I’d vote for statehood”

Last night, the 7th Republican primary debate was held in Des Moines, Iowa. The debate covered a host of topics ranging from social issues to homeland security, and to immigration policy. The debate was sponsored by Fox News and was moderated by Bret Baier, Chris Wallace, and Megyn Kelly. Roughly half way through the debate,… Read more »