Political Quotes

“As we have heard over and over again today, this Congress has plenary authority over our territories. Over the course of the last century, this body has rightly delegated this power to provide for home rule for our territories. However, it is abundantly clear that this delegation of power has resulted in no oversight by the Federal Government over the debts that our territories are running up. In this particular case, out of the blue, we have been told by the United States Treasury that it is our constitutional responsibility to do something to save a territory from years of its own fiscal irresponsibility. For years, the entire Federal Government was, essentially, asleep at the wheel as one of our territories ran up huge, unsustainable debts until the day arose when the territory could no longer pay. Mr. Chair, I have absolutely no interest in interfering with the home rule of our territories. However, delegated authority can be abused. If we have a constitutional responsibility to intervene to prevent territorial insolvency, we certainly should exercise at least minimal oversight into the large debts that some of our territories are running up. My amendment is simple. It requires a biennial report to Congress on the debt of each territory, the drivers of each territory's debt, the effect of Federal policy on each territory's debt, and the ability of each territory to repay its debt. This will help us provide that minimal oversight. Unfortunately, Mr.…”