Post by Logan on Jan 21, 2016 4:24:41 GMT -6
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday said that while the Obama administration was ready to do all it could to help debt-ridden Puerto Rico, only Congress could deliver truly effective change.
Lew, speaking in San Juan where he met with the island's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, as well as business and labor leaders, last week urged Congress to urgently pass legislation by the end of March to help the island struggling with $70 billion debt.
He has called for legislation to allow Puerto Rico to restructure its debts paired with independent fiscal oversight.
"We will leave no stone unturned in looking for things we can do both administratively and using our convening authority to ... help solve these problems," Lew said at a press briefing on Wednesday morning. "But using all the tools we have still won't be as effective as Congressional action. That's why the time for Congress to act is now."
Continued at www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-treasury-idUSKCN0UY1U0 .
Lew, speaking in San Juan where he met with the island's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, as well as business and labor leaders, last week urged Congress to urgently pass legislation by the end of March to help the island struggling with $70 billion debt.
He has called for legislation to allow Puerto Rico to restructure its debts paired with independent fiscal oversight.
"We will leave no stone unturned in looking for things we can do both administratively and using our convening authority to ... help solve these problems," Lew said at a press briefing on Wednesday morning. "But using all the tools we have still won't be as effective as Congressional action. That's why the time for Congress to act is now."
Continued at www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-treasury-idUSKCN0UY1U0 .