The House Committee on Natural Resources held a remote hearing on the implementation of PROMESA during the coronavirus pandemic. The hearing took place on June 11th, 2020, and included testimony by Ms. Natalie Jaresko, the Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board, and Mr. Omar Marrero, the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency & Financial Advisory Authority…. Read more »

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced announced Thursday night that most coronavirus restrictions will be lifted. All businesses may now reopen, including gyms, spas, museums, daycares, and theaters, as well as beaches, parks, and houses of worship. Sporting events, fairs, and performances will be allowed. Tourists will be welcomed back to the Island beginning on… Read more »

In November, two important ballot issues will affect Puerto Rico. Those living in Puerto Rico will have another opportunity to vote on statehood. This vote will offer the same simple choice Alaska and Hawaii had in the 20thcentury: a straight up-or-down vote on statehood. The government of Puerto Rico hopes that the 2020 plebiscite will… Read more »

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Child Tax Credit Equity for Puerto Rico Act (S. 698) last year. Now they’ve written to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) encouraging them to include its provisions in the coronavirus stimulus blll the Senate is planning. Child Tax… Read more »

Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced in April, expressing his concerns about possible improprieties in the distribution of relief in Puerto Rico. “Unfortunately,” Chairman Grassley wrote, “there have been recent troubling revelations regarding instability of leadership in Puerto Rico’s health system, as well… Read more »

The Puerto Rico State Election Commission has released its proposed ballot for the plebiscite to be held on November 3. The next step is for the Commission to send the ballot to the United States Department of Justice for its approval, which would also trigger the release of $ 2.5 million in federal funds to… Read more »

A new law, the “Act to Define Puerto Rico’s Ultimate Political Status,” has been enacted in Puerto Rico. The law includes the details of the upcoming plebiscite, from the design of the ballot to the accessibility of polling places. It also includes an extensive section explaining the consequences of Puerto Rico remaining a territory. A… Read more »

Memorial Day is a special day set aside to honor and remember those who gave their lives in military service. Men and women from Puerto Rico have participated in every U.S. conflict since the Revolutionary War. Bernardo de Galvez, named Governor of Louisiana in 1777, supported the British Colonists during the Revolutionary War with an… Read more »

Several Members of the House Committee on Natural Resources sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Alex Azar on May 18 to seek clarity on HHS criteria for prioritizing the distribution of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) resources to U.S. territories. “[I]t is important to know if HHS is taking territories’ fragile… Read more »