A House panel advanced a bill on Wednesday that would appoint a control board to oversee the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s $72 billion debt, which has crippled the territory and led to some calls for a more direct bailout of the island’s finances.
The House Natural Resources Committee voted 29-10 to approve the bill, which followed weeks of bipartisan negotiations and talks with the White House.
With the committee’s vote, the legislation will now move to the House floor. Senate lawmakers said rather than writing their own legislation, they will await passage of the House bill.
During the two-day mark up, Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said Congress must fulfill a constitutional duty to oversee the U.S. territory, where the fiscal crisis has led to an unraveling economy, high unemployment and the flight of residents to the states.
“This bill is Puerto Rico’s last and best chance to get on sound financial footing and put its economy on the path to recovery and prosperity,” Bishop said.
Some conservatives are opposed to the bill and believe it will become a taxpayer bailout. Democrats say the new compromise bill is not ideal but they are willing to back it. It contains language limiting minimum wage hikes on the island, something that has also drawn some criticisms.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the status of the bill in the headline. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
