Political Quotes

“I thank Congressman Grijalva. I rise to support this thoughtful amendment and to thank its authors, Congressman Jolly and Congressman Curbelo, both from Florida. Florida is home to over 1 million individuals of Puerto Rican birth or descent, and will soon pass New York as the State with the largest Puerto Rican population. Many of the Puerto Rican families in Florida are recent arrivals, having relocated from Puerto Rico to the Sunshine State in search of the equality and economic opportunity that they lack on the island. {time} 1715 I also want to thank the organization Jubilee USA, which has been a constructive player in the debate over PROMESA. This amendment requires the Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico, created by section 409 of the bill, to report on recommended changes to Federal policy that would reduce child poverty in Puerto Rico. I do not want to prejudge the work of the task force, so I will simply say this: poverty in Puerto Rico, including child poverty, is far higher than in any State in the Nation, and it has been far higher for as long as statistics have been available. This demonstrates that the problem is structural in nature. It is rooted in the unequal treatment that Puerto Rico receives under key Federal antipoverty programs, which is only permissible because Puerto Rico is a territory rather than a State.…”