Puerto Rico must be included as a State in this Republic or released by this Republic.

But the CARES Act specifically authorizes territories to be able to access the Municipal Liquidity Facility. It is very clear in the law.

Just to close, Madam Chairwoman, because in the conversations today we talked about giving minorities more access and taking care of those communities, our territories have upwards of 90 percent populations comprised of minorities.

if the PROMESA Board is overly involved in the operational decisions of the government, how is the local government going to be able to build the credibility necessary to satisfy creditors and investors when PROMESA goes away?

the elected government of the people of Puerto Rico should be the one to determine how that money should be spent.

we receive inequitable funding from the Federal Government for liabilities that would receive a much different rate of funding if they were being incurred in any of the 50 states.

The responsibility of this country rests here in this Congress to be able to address these kinds of concerns.

the responsibility of this country rests here in this Congress to be able to address these kinds of concerns.

Can you imagine if the women murder rates in Washington, DC were 10 times the national average?

Even just the cost of educating an individual, at least in my district, is $6,500 per pupil, and the $892 per migrant is just very grossly insufficient.

There is a serious disconnect in this country when it comes to job creation, and that disconnect is impacting not only my district and not only Territories, but a lot of rural America.

We need to be very clear of the fact that if we are going to be talking about what is impacting a number of public companies... what impacted them the most was recklessness.

The Armed Services Committee has been a friend of and strong advocate for Guam's interest as our island plays a key role in our nation's primary defense against adversaries in Asia.

Addressing the significant labor shortages will allow for stabilization of the island's economy.

The nation in turn must recognize its duty to ensure economic stability in the application of Federal laws.

We must take steps necessary to protect our national security and interests.

Allowing our military ships to be maintained and serviced in foreign jurisdictions when we have local jurisdictions that can provide the work is counter to and undermines our ability to protect our nation.

Guam recognizes its unique position and the key role it plays in our nation's defense, but the nation in turn must recognize its duty to ensure economic stability in the application of Federal laws.