(Archived Content)
SAN JUAN, PR – As part of the Administration’s continued engagement with Puerto Rico on its debt crisis, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew today traveled to San Juan to highlight the escalating impacts of the crisis on the health, safety and welfare of the 3.5 million Americans living in Puerto Rico.
In San Juan, Secretary Lew visited Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School, where recent budget cuts have left the school without an ability to repair crumbling infrastructure and provide children with adequate school supplies. Secretary Lew then toured the Centro Médico de Puerto Rico, the primary medical center in Puerto Rico, where funding cuts, a lack of specialists, medication rationing and an influx of patients from other hospitals that have reduced services have made it difficult to treat patients.
Secretary Lew also met with Governor Alejandro García Padilla; U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva; leadership from Puerto Rico’s legislature; and local business and community leaders.
Discussions at each of the meetings focused on the real hardship already facing the residents of Puerto Rico as a result of this crisis, including escalating impacts on healthcare, legal and education services, and significant unemployment. Secretary Lew reiterated the Administration’s strong support for the people of Puerto Rico and emphasized the urgent need for congressional action to address this crisis with all of the stakeholders he met today.
In October, the Administration submitted a proposal to Congress that would establish an orderly process for Puerto Rico to restructure its debts, paired with independent fiscal oversight that respects Puerto Rico’s self-governance. In addition, the Administration has proposed initiatives that improve health care policies and incentivize work to help solve Puerto Rico’s longer-run challenges.
At all of his stops, Secretary Lew underscored his confidence that Puerto Rico can and will emerge from the current crisis and return to growth, but that only bipartisan action from Congress can provide Puerto Rico with the comprehensive tools needed to accomplish this.
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