Outgoing Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell sent a letter to Capitol Hill leaders yesterday expressing their continued concern about economic and healthcare issues facing Puerto Rico and urging Congress to “work together quickly to enact well-crafted legislation to encourage growth and opportunity for our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico.”
“Most urgently,” the letter notes, “Congress should address Puerto Rico’s “Medicaid cliff” funding issue before April as recommended last month by the Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico. Failure to do so would jeopardize health care for up to 900,000 poor U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico.”
Lew and Burwell further explain: “It is time to provide a long-term solution to Puerto Rico’s historically inadequate federal Medicaid financing, which threatens the viability of Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program and worsens Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. If Congress fails to craft a long-term solution, immediate action is still needed to ensure full fiscal year 2018 financing to avoid the “Medicaid cliff” identified in the report. Without action before April, Puerto Rico’s ability to execute contracts for Fiscal Year 2018 with its managed care organizations will be threatened, thereby putting at risk beginning July 1, 2017 the health care of up to 900,000 poor U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico.”
Turning to tax, the outgoing U.S. Secretaries encourage the expansion of an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) to Puerto Rico, noting the island’s high unemployment rate and explaining that their “analysis of the situation over the last several years demonstrates that an EITC would be the most effective and powerful tool to address these structural challenges to economic growth.” The letter further points out that the U.S. Department of Treasury “has continued to provide both the Oversight Board and the new Governor with technical assistance as requested, and will remain able to do so after the transition to the next Administration.”
The letter listed some additional actions proposed by the Task Force and supported by the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services:
- Improving data quality and timeliness and using this data to benchmark economic growth and fiscal developments in Puerto Rico
- Including Puerto Rico in funding and training programs that address Puerto Rico’s differential treatment in some Federal programs
- Implementing small business incentives
“It is time for Congress to move quickly to put these recommendations into law,” the letter concludes. “Last summer, Republicans and Democrats in Congress took decisive action in PROMESA to help improve Puerto Rico’s fiscal position by establishing an independent oversight board and providing it with comprehensive debt restructuring tools. As you know, these tools were provided to Puerto Rico as an alternative to a federal bailout and provide Puerto Rico’s government and the Oversight Board with comprehensive authorities to address the debt crisis. Members of Congress now must work together quickly to enact well-crafted legislation to encourage growth and opportunity for our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico.”
