December, 11 2015, 11:45am EDT
Representative Duffy Pushes Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Legislation
WASHINGTON
Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) is calling on Congress to intervene in Puerto Rico's debt crisis. In a speech on the House floor, Duffy said, "we can't turn a blind eye" to "our brothers and sisters on the island." Duffy introduced the "Puerto Rico Financial Stability and Debt Restructuring Choice Act" to extend bankruptcy protection and create an independent financial review board for the debt troubled island. Puerto Rico owes $72 billion in debt and faces a nearly 1 billion dollar payment come January.
"Congress needs to immediately address the humanitarian crisis affecting 3.5 million Americans" said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA. LeCompte consults Puerto Rico's religious leaders on solutions to the island's debt crisis. "Representative Duffy offers a new opportunity for Congress to act."
In his speech, Duffy noted that nearly 50% of the island's population lives in poverty and its unemployment rate is double the rate on the US mainland. In arguing for bankruptcy protection, Duffy noted that Americans in Puerto Rico should have the same rights as Americans on the mainland. Puerto Rico's Member of Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, introduced legislation earlier this year to allow the island access to Chapter 9 protection but without a review board. Under Duffy's legislation, Puerto Rico's government would need to approve the board's creation for it to take effect.
"Congress must take immediate action," said LeCompte. "With Congress slow to act, Treasury should intervene."
Read the Puerto Rico Financial Stability and Debt Restructuring Choice Act.
Watch Congressman Duffy's speech on the House floor.
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.
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The Constitution vests Congress, not the president, with the power to declare war (though presidents have used military force without getting the OK from Congress on multiple occasions in modern history, according to the National Constitution Center).
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"Amnesty International found that Israeli forces unlawfully struck residential buildings in the village of al-Ain in northern Bekaa on September 29, the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 14, and in Baalbeck city on October 21," the rights group said. "Israeli forces also unlawfully attacked the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on October 16."
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The September 29 attack "destroyed the house of the Syrian al-Shaar family, killing all nine members of the family who were sleeping inside," the report states.
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On October 16, Israel bombed the Nabatieh municipal complex, killing Mayor Ahmad Khalil and 10 other people.
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As the report notes:
A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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Guevara Rosas said: "These attacks must be investigated as war crimes. The Lebanese government must urgently call for a special session at the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism into the alleged violations and crimes committed by all parties in this conflict. It must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on Lebanese territory."
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians."
Last month, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's 433-day Gaza onslaught, which has left more than 162,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in the embattled enclave.
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