The crisis in Puerto Rico is not new. The 3.5 million U.S. citizens I represent have endured it for many years.

The first thing the current administration did was to increase spending by about 9 percent, by $850 million the first year in office.

I fight for equal rights for the American citizens of Puerto Rico, equal political rights and equal treatment in Federal programs.

To tackle the crisis, we must act with boldness and vision. If we are faint-hearted, we will fail.

I look forward to the day when my constituents have the exact same rights and responsibilities as your constituents.

Elected officials and civil servants in both the executive and legislative branches have a legal and moral obligation to support Puerto Rico in its time of dire need.

In terms of ARRA funding, stimulus funding, it was spent in Puerto Rico in accordance with the legislation approved by Congress.

The crisis is rooted in Puerto Rico's undemocratic and undignified territory status.

Unfortunately, our resident commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, does not even issue one statement against whistleblower retaliation that occurs very often at this facility.

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, home to 3.5 million American citizens, stands at a crossroads. The Governor recently announced that Puerto Rico cannot pay all of its debts. The Governor's comments were not constructive because they…

Puerto Rico's status is intolerable, and my constituents will no longer tolerate it. We want equality under the American flag, and we will settle for nothing less.

The most logical and democratic way for Congress to know where we stand as Americans is to allow us an up-or-down vote to confirm or overturn the 2012 results.

The current economic crisis is a cruel manifestation that territorial status is not a sustainable model for the political economy of America's last large and populous territory.

The only way to address this situation whereby our constitutional rights are never the same if we live in a territory is to either move to one of the 50 states or become a state.

I wouldn't have the gall to go any place and say, 'I am a Democrat, I believe in democracy, but I don't want to have the right to vote or the right to representation.'

How can anybody that says that they believe in democracy and that they want the U.S. citizenship, not want to participate in the democratic process of the nation they are citizens with?

I believe that the rules in the country should apply in the same way for creditors and debtors across the country.

I want only for Puerto Rico to be treated equally.