On the recordDecember 10, 2015
I appreciate the gentleman yielding. Tonight I rise to talk about our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico. If you have watched the news recently, you are well aware that there is an economic financial debt crisis taking place right now in Puerto Rico. Our American brothers and sisters are going through an incredibly difficult time. The island is $73 billion in debt. That is 100 percent of their GDP, which is catastrophically high. This debt has had a huge impact on the livelihoods of those who live on the island. The unemployment rate is over twice what it is on the mainland. It is at 12.4 percent. Forty-eight percent of Americans on the island are living in poverty. Again, half of the island citizens--Americans--are living in poverty. Ten percent of the 3.5 million people on the island are leaving and they are coming to the mainland. It is great because they work hard and they have an amazing culture. It is wonderful they are coming. But if you are coming to the mainland, you should be coming because you want to come, not because you don't have economic opportunity in your home. We don't want to force people away from their families and their neighbors and their community because they don't have economic opportunity. We have to stand together in this House and stand with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico. We can't turn a blind eye. We have to work with them. We have to work for them so we can address this crisis.…
