if the goal--and I think the goal from at least the majority of this side of the aisle is to see Puerto Rico eventually have statehood sooner rather than later, the ability of working together to solve these issues becomes critical.

PROMESA was a bi-partisan compromise that came out of a Republican Congress and the Obama administration.

All of us--the Oversight Board, Congress and the Administration--owe it to the Puerto Rican people to help them find solutions to the problems they are facing.

They are both expressing their opposition to the Governor's Executive Order 2018-33.

Representatives Velazquez and Bishop have filed a bill to strengthen the legislated disclosure requirements of third parties hired by the Board.

In an effort to come to an evaluation of if we are ready to move on, the essential element has to be some kind of audit to be a part of that.

I appreciate that in your opening statement you did say that when you were running for governor, the idea of an Oversight Board was not even contemplated.

Three years ago, this Committee was assigned to come up with a process, in some particular way, to solve the looming disaster that was facing financial disaster in Puerto Rico.

I voted for its passage and urged my colleagues to do the same because I agreed with the Obama administration that urgent action was needed to prevent an economic catastrophe due to never-ending lawsuits that would result from creditors…

Congress can help to mitigate and prepare Puerto Rico for impending hurricanes and other natural disasters by providing timely and well-invested disaster reconstruction funds.

Austerity alone does not work and will only lead to further economic contraction.

I am proud to report that my administration has enacted and implemented more laws and reforms than any other administration in Puerto Rico's history.

Utahns believe in being good stewards of our planet, leaving the Earth better than we found it. When I served as the mayor of Provo, we pursued policies to construct LEAD-certified buildings, create more environmentally friendly transit…

I thank Mr. Gosar for yielding me time. I appreciate this opportunity. Mr. Speaker, look, I was listening to a lecture the other day about the old Romans, the Roman Empire. The Romans' success in creating their empire was that they were…

The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) is spot-on accurate. I thank him for bringing this up.

It is not a stellar performance by Congress by any means, but thank you all.

Right now it is disruptive, expensive, and frustrating, and much of the success--certain reorganizations, I think, have been inflated sometimes.

I was absolutely appalled, being the guy that opened the World War II Memorial, when barricades had been rented or purchased and put up in an open air memorial to do nothing but harass the Nation's veterans that put their lives on the line.