Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced yesterday that he will convene a hearing on on Tuesday, Dec. 1 to examine the source of and possible solutions to Puerto Rico’s fiscal situation.
In a statement, Grassley said that his goal is to help committee members and the public identify and gain a better understanding of the root cause of Puerto Rico’s fiscal problems, discuss what’s currently being done, and consider what options are available that could help Puerto Rico get itself out of the present situation.
The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over bankruptcy policy, but Grassley has reiterated that restructuring debt and throwing taxpayer money at the island, without ensuring the creation and implementation of structural and fiscal reform, fails to resolve the underlying problems in Puerto Rico required to create economic growth.
Witnesses for the hearing will be announced at a later date.
The Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing in February of 2015 to examine Puerto Rico’s fiscal situation. (Read more here and here.) In the U.S. Senate, the Finance Committee, which governs federal tax, Medicaid and Medicare policy in Puerto Rico, and Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over all U.S. territorial matters, also held hearings this year to examine Puerto Rico’s current challenges and possible solutions.
The vote is the power, statehood the only option ! No statehood then independence…
Asi mismito… EQUAL RIGHTS NOW!
Puerto Rico does not need a chapter9, we need a Federal Control Board and Statehood, so that our governors stop throwing taxpayers money in million dollar contracts to friends and familiy just to stay in power.