"Greedy Wall Street vulture funds must not be allowed to reap huge profits off the suffering and misery of the Puerto Rican people for a second longer," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement on Wednesday. (Photo: Hedge Clippers)
Jul 26, 2018
As advocacy groups urgently warn that Wall Street firms are moving to capitalize on Puerto Rico's plight in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria by extracting debt payments and pushing for the privatization of public services, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several other Democratic senators on Wednesday to introduce a bill that would "provide an avenue to comprehensive debt relief" for the island.
"Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"Greedy Wall Street vulture funds must not be allowed to reap huge profits off the suffering and misery of the Puerto Rican people for a second longer," Sanders said in a statement on the new bill, which would also provide debt relief for the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories ravaged by recent hurricanes. "It is time to end Wall Street's stranglehold on Puerto Rico's future, return control of the island to the people of Puerto Rico, and give the territory the debt relief it so desperately needs to rebuild with dignity."
\u201cPuerto Rico is trying to rebuild after Hurricane Maria, but it's being crushed by debt. @SenSanders & I have a new bill to give territories that have suffered a major crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet. https://t.co/axsXI4rfIL\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1532547891
As reporter David Dayen noted in The Intercept, the senators' new legislation is a striking departure from efforts to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis under President Barack Obama, who in 2016 signed legislation that "led to punishing austerity proposals, mass protests, and a wave of privatization, with assets sold off to finance interest payments."
Following Hurricane Maria, Dayen writes, Puerto Rico is now "in the impossible position of rebuilding, attracting economic investment, and paying down debt simultaneously."
The legislation introduced by Sanders, Warren, and other prominent Senate Democrats would partially lift the island's massive burden by making most of its $73 billion in debt eligible for cancellation.
"Puerto Rico was already being squeezed before Hurricane Maria hit and will now have to rebuild under the weight of crushing debt. Our bill will give territories that have suffered an extraordinary crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet," Warren said in a statement. "Disaster funding and the other resources in struggling territories' budgets must not go to Wall Street vulture funds who snapped up their debt. Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
The new bill--officially titled the U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018 (pdf)--has been endorsed by dozens of advocacy groups, including LatinoJustice, Amor Para Puerto Rico, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Alliance for Puerto Rico-Massachusetts, CREDO, and Grassroots Global Justice.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
austeritybarack obamabernie sanderselizabeth warrenextreme weatherhurricane mariakirsten gillibrandpuerto ricowall street
As advocacy groups urgently warn that Wall Street firms are moving to capitalize on Puerto Rico's plight in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria by extracting debt payments and pushing for the privatization of public services, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several other Democratic senators on Wednesday to introduce a bill that would "provide an avenue to comprehensive debt relief" for the island.
"Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"Greedy Wall Street vulture funds must not be allowed to reap huge profits off the suffering and misery of the Puerto Rican people for a second longer," Sanders said in a statement on the new bill, which would also provide debt relief for the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories ravaged by recent hurricanes. "It is time to end Wall Street's stranglehold on Puerto Rico's future, return control of the island to the people of Puerto Rico, and give the territory the debt relief it so desperately needs to rebuild with dignity."
\u201cPuerto Rico is trying to rebuild after Hurricane Maria, but it's being crushed by debt. @SenSanders & I have a new bill to give territories that have suffered a major crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet. https://t.co/axsXI4rfIL\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1532547891
As reporter David Dayen noted in The Intercept, the senators' new legislation is a striking departure from efforts to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis under President Barack Obama, who in 2016 signed legislation that "led to punishing austerity proposals, mass protests, and a wave of privatization, with assets sold off to finance interest payments."
Following Hurricane Maria, Dayen writes, Puerto Rico is now "in the impossible position of rebuilding, attracting economic investment, and paying down debt simultaneously."
The legislation introduced by Sanders, Warren, and other prominent Senate Democrats would partially lift the island's massive burden by making most of its $73 billion in debt eligible for cancellation.
"Puerto Rico was already being squeezed before Hurricane Maria hit and will now have to rebuild under the weight of crushing debt. Our bill will give territories that have suffered an extraordinary crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet," Warren said in a statement. "Disaster funding and the other resources in struggling territories' budgets must not go to Wall Street vulture funds who snapped up their debt. Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
The new bill--officially titled the U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018 (pdf)--has been endorsed by dozens of advocacy groups, including LatinoJustice, Amor Para Puerto Rico, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Alliance for Puerto Rico-Massachusetts, CREDO, and Grassroots Global Justice.
As advocacy groups urgently warn that Wall Street firms are moving to capitalize on Puerto Rico's plight in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria by extracting debt payments and pushing for the privatization of public services, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several other Democratic senators on Wednesday to introduce a bill that would "provide an avenue to comprehensive debt relief" for the island.
"Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"Greedy Wall Street vulture funds must not be allowed to reap huge profits off the suffering and misery of the Puerto Rican people for a second longer," Sanders said in a statement on the new bill, which would also provide debt relief for the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories ravaged by recent hurricanes. "It is time to end Wall Street's stranglehold on Puerto Rico's future, return control of the island to the people of Puerto Rico, and give the territory the debt relief it so desperately needs to rebuild with dignity."
\u201cPuerto Rico is trying to rebuild after Hurricane Maria, but it's being crushed by debt. @SenSanders & I have a new bill to give territories that have suffered a major crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet. https://t.co/axsXI4rfIL\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1532547891
As reporter David Dayen noted in The Intercept, the senators' new legislation is a striking departure from efforts to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis under President Barack Obama, who in 2016 signed legislation that "led to punishing austerity proposals, mass protests, and a wave of privatization, with assets sold off to finance interest payments."
Following Hurricane Maria, Dayen writes, Puerto Rico is now "in the impossible position of rebuilding, attracting economic investment, and paying down debt simultaneously."
The legislation introduced by Sanders, Warren, and other prominent Senate Democrats would partially lift the island's massive burden by making most of its $73 billion in debt eligible for cancellation.
"Puerto Rico was already being squeezed before Hurricane Maria hit and will now have to rebuild under the weight of crushing debt. Our bill will give territories that have suffered an extraordinary crisis a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet," Warren said in a statement. "Disaster funding and the other resources in struggling territories' budgets must not go to Wall Street vulture funds who snapped up their debt. Congress should pass this legislation right away--our fellow U.S. citizens are counting on us."
The new bill--officially titled the U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018 (pdf)--has been endorsed by dozens of advocacy groups, including LatinoJustice, Amor Para Puerto Rico, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Alliance for Puerto Rico-Massachusetts, CREDO, and Grassroots Global Justice.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.