O’Malley: 'We Can’t Let Puerto Rico Fail'

[elleng]

The Maryland Democrat calls for swift action in the face of the island’s potential default.

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley is making his pitch to fix Puerto Rico’s financial crisis in the wake of the commonwealth missing a critical debt payment toward the $72 billion it owes bondholders.

In an interview published Saturday in conjunction with a scheduled campaign stop on the island, the former Maryland governor addressed the escalating financial crisis with Puerto Rican daily newspaper El Nuevo Dia, stressing “the obligation to help and fight injustice” through aggressive policy change.

“The main thing we need to do is extend the same bankruptcy protections that we have on the federal level to Puerto Rico,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley also touched on the island’s mounting health care crisis, which includes cuts or reductions to vital programs like Medicare Advantage.

“We need to level the playing field in terms of healthcare, specifically normalizing low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates to equal those stateside,” O’Malley said. “Those two things, Chapter 9 and healthcare reform, can do a lot to help Puerto Rico solve this debt crisis.” . .

Asked about his decision to make Puerto Rico a campaign stop, O’Malley joked it was “probably due to my Irish background” and “having ties to an island that has also been treated unfairly.” . .

As the island continues its financial downward spiral, O’Malley emphasized the need for immediate action.

“For the good of the country and for the sake of our credibility in the hemisphere, we have the obligation to act and help our fellow citizens, whose sons and daughters have fought on the battlefield to defend our country,” he said. “We can’t let Puerto Rico fail.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cant-let-puerto-rico-fail-2016-omalley_55bd2c40e4b06363d5a2709c

[FSogol]

1. K&R. n/t

[Raine1967]

2. Puerto Rico is a big deal, and I wish this country was paying a lot more attention

to what is happening there.

I am glad that one nominee is.

The Obama administration is pretty much saying the same thing if I am understanding this right.

http://www.latinpost.com/articles/69048/20150731/treasury-secretary-lew-explains-administration-can-do-nothing-for-puerto-rico-calls-for-bankruptcy-protections.htm

Lew explained Puerto Rico also attempted to bypass the law and enact a type of bankruptcy law to help its situation, but a federal court struck it down.

"The Court held that only Congress may grant Puerto Rico access to bankruptcy protection," he wrote. "Under the status quo, without a tested legal regime in place, a resolution of Puerto Rico's financial obligations would likely be chaotic, protracted, and costly both for Puerto Rico and more broadly for the United States."

Expanding on the need for Congress to act, Lew wrote allowing Puerto Rico access to bankruptcy laws does not equate a bailout but avoids "an untested and potentially disruptive process with numerous creditor lawsuits and years of litigation [that] would depress the local economy, increase costs, and make long-term recovery harder to achieve."

Sen. Hatch also favors an "orderly resolution" for Puerto Rico's economic crisis and asked Lew about the administration's position on granting the territory Chapter 9 protections. However, Lew did not answer Sen. Hatch's questions concerning minimum wage and taxes, but the Treasury Secretary emphasized the importance to grant Puerto Rico access to bankruptcy protections.