A Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing tomorrow at 10:30 am to examine health care funding in the U.S. territories. The hearing, which is entitled “Strengthening Health Care in the U.S. Territories for Today and Into the Future,” will cover Puerto Rico’s upcoming extreme loss of Medicaid funding, often referred to as the “Medicaid Cliff.”… Read more »
In their Foreign Affairs essay, “The forgotten colony of the United States,” Antonio Weiss and Brad Setser explain how Puerto Rico’s “perpetual crisis” is a result of its colonial status. “Since 1898, when Washington took possession of it at the end of the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico has been neither granted sovereignty nor fully integrated… Read more »
Nate Silver of Five Thirty Eight chatted with D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on the question of statehood — initially for Washington, D.C., but quickly bringing in Puerto Rico and other possibilities as well. Galen Druke facilitated the discussion, which you can hear fully below. Druke asked Holmes Norton… Read more »
The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives committee with jurisdiction over Medicaid legislation was quoted in Puerto Rico news source El Nuevo Dia as saying he wanted a temporary increase in funding for the program in Puerto Rico in excess of $1.2 billion a year passed this September to deal with the upcoming Medicaid… Read more »
Angel Collado Schwartz provided a history lesson for readers of El Nuevo Dia in his recent article, “¿Es viable un ELA culminado?” The question is one that has been discussed for decades: can Puerto Rico develop, enhance, perfect, or in this case complete the “commonwealth” status? The answer from the federal government has been a… Read more »
Presidential candidate Joe Biden suggested in a campaign speech that the administration’s response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico was affected by a misunderstanding. “It’s shameful, the way we treated Puerto Rico and the islands,” Politico quoted Biden as saying. “I’m not even sure people in the president’s administration knew Puerto Ricans are all… Read more »
Juan Carlos Albors, a candidate for Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner in 2020, has proposed that Puerto Rico serve as a facilitator for Chinese exports, bypassing U.S. tariffs. “The fiscal autonomy of the (“Commonwealth” of Puerto Rico) is so broad that, in addition to avoiding the imposition of the Federal income tax, it also includes exemption… Read more »
Come September, coffee lovers will be able to get coffee pods featuring coffee from Puerto Rico. George Clooney filmed a promotional video in Puerto Rico. The new product is part of Nespresso’s Reviving Origins program. The initiative is intended to restore coffee growing lands after disasters, including political upheavals and financial crisis as well as… Read more »
In the wake of an article last week in Politico Pro reporting on recent polling results finding that Puerto Ricans in New York overwhelmingly support Puerto Rico statehood, New York City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. has penned an essay in Bronx.com, called, “Statehood for Puerto Rico”. “Puerto Rico most certainly deserves to be the 51st… Read more »
The Senate has passed a $19.1 billion bill providing disaster relief for many U.S. States and territories, including Puerto Rico. The bill gives Puerto Rico $600 million in emergency nutritional assistance funding. It includes a requirement that previously approved $8.9 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief funding be released. It provides $300 million in… Read more »
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