WASHINGTON — The eight members of a recently named congressional task force on Puerto Rico's economy are soliciting input from both public and private stakeholders as they begin assessing possible federal changes that could help the territory.
The members of the Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico asked for the input in a joint statement released Thursday.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is serving as the task force's chair after House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appointed him to the position on July 25. Hatch is joined on the task force by Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's sole and nonvoting representative in Congress, as well as Reps. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., Sean Duffy, R-Wis., and Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. are representing the House on the task force. "As we work in a bipartisan manner to identify what reforms are needed to grow the Puerto Rican economy and promote prosperity on the island, we are interested in stakeholder input," the members said. "Information and insights, from both the public and private sectors in Puerto Rico, will be useful to the task force as it analyzes impediments to growth on the island stemming from federal law and programs and arrives at recommendations to remove current barriers to growth."
Stakeholders will have until Sept. 2 to respond with any comments or suggestions. All submissions will be considered part of the public record, according to the statement.
The task force was established as part of the PROMESA legislation that President Obama signed into law in late June. It is a separate group from the seven-member oversight board the legislation will put in place.
The eight members must write a report by Dec. 31 of this year that identifies any current impediments federal law and programs put on economic growth or healthcare coverage for the territory as well as recommendations to fix them. The task force will explore, among other things, possible improvements that could bolster job creation, reduce child poverty, and attract investment.
The members are also required under PROMESA to provide a status update on the information that they have collected by mid-September.
Puerto Rico is struggling with nearly $70 billion in debt and $46 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
