Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. I would be happy to yield to the Senator from Georgia, as long as I be permitted to follow him for up to 10 minutes.

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I strongly agree with colleagues who have supported effective, real measures to confront the spreading toll that Zika is taking around the world and, I assume, will take an even greater number and magnitude in this country. But we need effective solutions that will provide funding for research, eradication of mosquitoes, and education of the public without harmful restrictions that prevent women from seeking family planning services that, in fact, help to prevent the spread of Zika.

Nowhere is the threat of Zika greater than in Puerto Rico. That island has been particularly hard-hit. In fact, the spreading financial crisis is combining with the spreading epidemic of Zika to create a true humanitarian crisis. That crisis will only be aggravated and deepened by a failure to deal effectively with the financial default that faces the island in just a few days from now.

On July 1, $2 billion of loans will come due, and Puerto Rico simply lacks the resources to pay those debts. It is insolvent, so far as those debts are concerned. If the Bankruptcy Code applied, it could seek relief from its creditors and prevent the race to the courthouse and the enormous litigation costs and other expenses that will ensue.

We have an opportunity to act on behalf of the people of the United States who have a powerfully important stake in the people of Puerto Rico and the welfare of that island. It is Americans who live there-- 3.5 million American citizens, who have fought in our wars, given of their culture and heritage to all of us, and have helped make America the greatest, strongest country in the history of the world. They are American citizens who are part of the fabric of this Nation, and the people of Puerto Rico will be the ones who pay the price of a failure on our part to act effectively.

The simple fact is that Puerto Rico cannot afford to pay all of its creditors and continue to provide a basic level of services for its people. That fact is undisputed. The question is simply whether this situation is addressed in an orderly and productive way or permitted to enter the sea of chaos--financially and in humanitarian terms--that will ensue without action on our part.

Already we have seen the beginnings of this crisis. The island's only 24/7 stroke center has closed because too many Puerto Rican neurologists have left for the mainland. The Puerto Rican Department of Education has not paid hundreds of firms that provide education and transportation services. Hospitals are barely keeping the lights on. Schools cannot pay bus drivers.

My colleague from Florida, Senator Nelson, told the story yesterday of the neonatal dialysis center that is providing services only to customers who can pay cash up front. Imagine, in the United States-- Puerto Rico is part of the United States--children in need of lifesaving services are being turned away and denied basic health care.

There is no need to guess as to what will happen on July 1. Creditors have told us--in fact, they have told us very explicitly in court papers already filed last week. They wrote: ``It has long been settled law that Constitutional Debt is constitutionally required to be paid first in times of scarcity, ahead of even what government deems `essential services.' '' They will claim to be paid in advance and in priority over essential services. That is the stark, harsh truth of litigation, and a judgment in their favor will have lasting and irreparable effects on the people of Puerto Rico. If the creditors win, the people of Puerto Rico lose, and they lose tremendously and irreparably.

The Senate has a choice. Instead of allowing a chaotic process that costs tremendously in scarce resources and benefits financially the lawyers and some of the creditors more than anyone, we can pass legislation before us today. It is not the legislation I would have preferred. In fact, this deal is not one that I find attractive. There are defects and weaknesses in its provisions relating to minimum wage and overtime and pensions and the structure of the board, among others. But the question is, What is the alternative?

With PROMESA, the parties will have a workable judicial mechanism with a stay on litigation, ensuring that chaos is avoided and the current mess is resolved. If we devise a system that only the creditors like and works only for them, it will benefit a small group of wealthy investors that could threaten to block Puerto Rico's economic recovery. In fact, the longest lasting and most alarming effect will be the uncertainty that results from our failure to act, which almost clearly and unavoidably will cause a deep recession in that island. It will, in effect, impede investment in the island and quash economic recovery.

Representative Nydia Velazquez put it best. She has never stopped fighting for her homeland of Puerto Rico. Before PROMESA passed the House she said:

Some would have you believe that if we only yell louder, there will be a third option. But let me tell you, I have screamed so loud that I no longer have a voice.

Like the vast majority of her House colleagues, she voted for PROMESA because it is the best option available now that both sides can support. No amount of wishing or yelling will change that fact.

PROMESA has the support of experts across the political spectrum and editorial boards across the country. It has won support from Puerto Rico's Governor and its sole representative in the U.S. House. It has won support from business leaders in Puerto Rico and in the United States. And, crucially, the Treasury Department says it is an essential step--a first step--to avoid humanitarian catastrophe. We can come back next month, next year, or sooner to try to make it better. But there is no better bill available this week, before July 1, and the impending humanitarian crisis will most affect and most enduringly hurt the people of Puerto Rico. The choice is hope or disaster for the Americans who live in Puerto Rico.

PROMESA could be better, but at the end of the day, we cannot permit the perfect to be the enemy of the good. I will continue to work for a better bill, seeking to offer amendments that improve it, and fighting afterward for still more improvements in this measure.

Today I urge my colleagues to join in supporting PROMESA.

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