Title
Calling upon the United States Congress and the President to develop a comprehensive plan to address the humanitarian and fiscal crisis facing Puerto Rico.
Body
WHEREAS, In June 2015, Puerto Rico's Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla declared the Commonwealth's $72 billion dollar debt "not payable" with the island effectively running out of cash for the government to continue operating; and
WHEREAS, This economic crisis has forced a second "Great Migration" much like after World War II, with more than 250,000 Puerto Ricans leaving the island since 2010; and
WHEREAS, Puerto Rico has taken extraordinary measures to address the situation, including shuttering more than one hundred public schools, delaying people's tax refunds, increasing the retirement age, borrowing from the worker's compensation fund even withholding holiday bonuses, and increasing the local sales tax to a national high of 11.5%; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Government needs to take strong action to stabilize Puerto Rico and help it restructure the debt by incorporating bankruptcy and debt restructuring protections. The government needs to grant Puerto Rico the right to declare for Chapter 9 bankruptcy; health care equity eliminating the annual Medicaid/ Mi Salud funding cap, and tax reform to institute tax policies that foster economically diverse and living wage job creation, which will create sustainable growth on the island; and
WHEREAS, The Earned Income Tax Credit is the nation's largest anti-poverty cash assistance program as it increases the ability of workers in low-paying jobs to support themselves and their families, however it does not apply to Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, The Child Tax Credit provides substantial tax relief for families with children yet also only applies in limited fashion in Puerto Rico where only families with three or more children are eligible for the tax credit refund; and
WHEREAS, Prior to 1985, Puerto Rico had the ability to file for ...
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