Political Quotes

“Madam President, this week the Senate is going to consider legislation dealing with the crisis in Puerto Rico. The legislation before us, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, has already passed the House by a vote of 297 to 127. We are taking it up this week because Puerto Rico needs help. They have needed help for quite a while, but now we are running out of time to help that island territory of the United States, with 3.5 million American citizens living there. Last week, I spoke to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla. He explained just how dire the situation is in Puerto Rico. On July 1, a $2 billion debt payment is due. That is just a few days from now. There is no way Puerto Rico can make that payment; they don't have the cash. When they don't make that payment, there will be a race to the courthouse to see which hedge fund will sue Puerto Rico first and squeeze out whatever money is left on the island, even if it comes at the expense of the 3.5 million American citizens living there today. Hedge funds have already filed for injunctive relief in the Southern District of New York. In their court documents, they state that they should be paid first in times of scarcity, even ahead of what the government needs for essential services--essential services such as schools, hospitals, law enforcement.…”