Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy in Disclosures Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy in Disclosures Act, H.R. 1192.

Representative Velazquez and myself have proposed this bipartisan initiative in the last two Congresses, having achieved passage in the House during the last session. I think Congresswoman Velazquez is very thoughtful in terms of how important this is and the effects on PROMESA regarding this bill.

We support this bill as an important component in ensuring the restructuring process under PROMESA, and it looks out for Puerto Rico's interests.

This legislation requires any counsel and professional personnel that the financial oversight board may hire to work on a title III case for the restructuring of Puerto Rico's debt to submit verified disclosures of their connections with the debtor, creditors, or persons employed by the oversight board prior to being compensated.

These provisions extend the same requirements to decisions about the hiring of personnel for the restructuring as are imposed on such personnel under existing bankruptcy rules. I think it is important to have the same kind of rules for those people who are going to be managing, as we speak, those kinds of negotiations.

Our intention is not to exclude any people with expertise and knowledge about Puerto Rico's fiscal transactions from being resources in the restructuring process, but I think it is essential that any such connection be clear and known so that such persons' qualifications and the role they are going to be playing can be better evaluated.

Conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, can be best avoided if there are accountability and transparency during the process. This bill would allow that to happen.

This bill would require that such personnel must disclose in detail their participation and involvement with any entity involved in the issuance of Puerto Rico's debt and in any claims involving Puerto Rico's debt, informing the identity of each one.

Anyone who is serving in the board--and I repeat, anyone who is serving in the board--working to inform its decisions, or representing it before the title III court, must have the trust of all parties that they are committed to defending the interests of Puerto Rico to the best of their ability in accordance to the law and justice.

A lack of transparency in personnel decisions creates a lack of confidence and distrust. Learning that someone was involved in the business of one of the parties in the case, only after they are named and working on the case, does not create assurance of their commitment to the best interests of Puerto Rico or even managing the debt.

Our goal must be to reach the day that we will no longer need the provisions of PROMESA or the fiscal oversight board, and we can dedicate ourselves to rebuild our economy and provide for growth. But until that happens, we must demand that those instruments created by PROMESA be accountable and transparent in their processes. Anything else should be unacceptable.

That is the reason this bill, H.R. 1192, is important, and I ask my colleagues to support and pass this bill.

Madam Speaker, I say thank you to the Congresswoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for this bill and for allowing this initiative to be a bipartisan one.

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