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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Greg Williams, Communications Director

greg@jubileeusa.org / (o) (202) 783-3566 x101 (m) (443) 854-1405

Puerto Rico Government Meets with Debt Holders in New York

Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank is meeting with advisers of some of the finance firms that own Puerto Rico's debt. The Bank says it will present a proposed plan to comprehensively resolve the island's debt crisis. A December 1 deadline looms for Puerto Rico to make a $355 million debt payment or enter a partial default. The US territory owes $72 billion in debt.

WASHINGTON

Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank is meeting with advisers of some of the finance firms that own Puerto Rico's debt. The Bank says it will present a proposed plan to comprehensively resolve the island's debt crisis. A December 1 deadline looms for Puerto Rico to make a $355 million debt payment or enter a partial default. The US territory owes $72 billion in debt.

"It's important to find a solution that can deal with Puerto Rico's total debt," said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA Network. "Puerto Rico's people face a humanitarian crisis. Puerto Rico's government and bond holders have the ability to work out a voluntary solution that protects Puerto Rico's people."

The Puerto Rico public utility company, PREPA, also reaches a deadline to re-negotiate its $8 billion debt. Congress currently considers legislation to grant Puerto Rico's public utilities access to US bankruptcy protection. In October, the Obama Administration proposed a more comprehensive bankruptcy plan that covers all of Puerto Rico's public debt. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on December 1 to discuss those proposals.

"Every day that this crisis drags on means more hardship for Puerto Rico's people," said LeCompte.

Read the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank's meeting announcement.

Read a timeline of Puerto Rico's debt crisis.

Jubilee USA Network is an interfaith, non-profit alliance of religious, development and advocacy organizations. We are 75 U.S. institutions and more than 750 faith groups working across the United States and around the globe. We address the structural causes of poverty and inequality in our communities and countries around the world.

(202) 783-3566