Rob Bishop

The idea that they will be passed in the Senate or signed by a President is delusional, at best.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman pro tem. I just want to quickly thank the witnesses for being here.

What we really should be talking about are ways in which we can actually make the system that you have possible for the three goals that I still have for the island.

Let's face it, the problems that Puerto Rico is facing right now, that the island is facing, simply come from a lot of bad decisions that were made in past governments.

I thank the Resident Commissioner for her stalwart leadership and the work she conducts to find real solutions for her 3 million constituents.

Despite progress with the Board, little changed in the past 3 years in Puerto Rico's government, other than the resignation of the previous governor.

It is very good to have disparative views, especially from those who are on the ground floor in what they are doing.

The PROMESA legislation was unique in the annals of Congress.

The Congress crafted PROMESA with bipartisan support but the goal of that was always to ensure that it regains financial credibility.

Without this Board, without the structure we have in hand, those three goals--the economic success, the governmental stability, as well as the path to statehood--are going to be significantly retarded, if not eliminated.

If we want to learn from history, we don't go down this road.

Today, unfortunately, we sit here to consider the exact opposite of what a bi-partisan compromise looks like.

Unfortunately, the Democrat bill under consideration here today is not a realistic step forward for the island, but another empty attempt to halt real progress for our fellow Americans.

If you say of your elders, I am going to go on for another 3 minutes.

The answer, much to my dismay but to the surprise of no one is simple: Democrats would rather listen to their radical special interests groups than to consider the detrimental impacts this reckless proposal will have on the current fragile…

Unfortunately, as significant as those are and the problems I think we have talked about even when we were in Puerto Rico, those are not the jurisdiction of this Committee.

We should be going down to Puerto Rico for these hearings in November and December.

The second is to provide governmental stability, which hasn't happened necessarily in the last several years.

It was made possible by the sincere and genuine commitments made by both Democrats and Republicans to put aside politics, realize we were dealing with an unprecedented situation, and work for the betterment of the territory.

The proposed amendments that have been floated around here are not going anywhere.

Three years ago this Committee crafted a bi-partisan compromise between the then Republican-controlled Congress and the Obama administration Treasury Department to help bring stability to Puerto Rico's quickly unraveling debt crisis.

The number of Members who are here is heartening.

Oversight is the responsibility of Congress, and it is good. And when it is bipartisan it can yield good results.

Look, oversight is the responsibility of Congress, and it is good. And when it is bipartisan it can yield good results.

When Secretary Bernhardt took over as Acting Secretary, the Department produced for this Committee over 100,000 pages of information from 22 different oversight requests.