The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA, established a Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico. The law specified that “The purpose of the board is to provide a method for a covered territory to achieve fiscal responsibility and access to the capital markets. The board must be created… Read more »

HR 6246, the Puerto Rico Admissions Act of 2018, started out with 37 cosponsors. As of this writing, there are 43. Who are they? First, they are a bipartisan group. 19 Democrats and 24 Republicans have cosponsored this bill so far. Second, they are not the same group that has supported Puerto Rico status bills… Read more »

Enrique Fernandez Toledo, Director of Puerto Rico Relief and Economic Development Policy for the Center for American Progress (CAP) led fourteen CAP staff members on a fact-finding trip to Puerto Rico and came back with some key conclusions. “Our visit allowed us to witness firsthand the creative and courageous response to the crisis by brave individuals and… Read more »

This screenshot shows that searches for the answer to the question, “Who is the president of Puerto Rico?” peaked last fall right after Hurricane Maria’s catastrophic landfall in Puerto Rico. It also shows that people are still looking for the answer to that question. So who is the president of Puerto Rico? As of this… Read more »

Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon touted support of her recently introduced Puerto Rico admission legislation this morning from the floor of the United States House of Representatives.  Her unofficial remarks are copied below: On June 27, I was joined by more than 40 members of this house in introducing H.R. 42 — 6246,… Read more »

In the video below, a drunken Timothy G. Trybus harasses a woman wearing a shirt showing the flag of Puerto Rico. He steps into her personal space and speaks to her in offensive terms. She asks a nearby police officer, identified as Patrick Connor, to remove him. Governor Ricardo Rossello has asked that the police… Read more »

The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Beryl is no longer forecast to be hurricane strength as it approaches land, and it has been downgraded to a tropical storm.  Yet the threat of flooding remains considerable and wind damage with related power outages are also possible given Puerto Rico’s fragile electric grid. The Guajataca Dam,… Read more »

Beryl started off as a tropical depression and within 18 hours was classified as a hurricane. By now, Beryl is  a Category 1 Hurricane heading for the Lesser Antilles. What does that mean? Hurricane categories Hurricanes are sorted into categories, from Category 1 to Category 5. Hurricane Maria was a Category 5 hurricane that dipped… Read more »

Puerto Rico made headlines after Hurricane Maria hit the Island last September. Millions of Americans were surprised to learn that Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Awareness of these facts, according to polls in the States, went from less than half to 76% within a… Read more »

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a program that rewards low income working families for staying employed. This program has proved effective in lifting families out of poverty. The funds it provides are used for college tuition, car repairs, and other expenses that can help poor households increase their income and make their jobs more… Read more »