Velázquez Statement on Firing of Puerto Rico Fiscal Board Members

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s removal of five members of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Oversight and Management Board:
 
“There are serious and longstanding concerns with the Fiscal Board, its expansive interpretation of PROMESA, and the austerity it has imposed which has devastated Puerto Rican communities. Unfortunately, when Puerto Rico declared its bankruptcy there was no legal path to orderly restructure its debt. Congress sought to fill that gap in 2016, but the process has been far from perfect. Since then, I’ve fought for years to rein in the Board’s power and hold it accountable to the people it was never elected to represent.
 
“But this sudden purge by Donald Trump is not about justice or reform. It doesn’t dismantle the Board or change PROMESA. It simply creates an opening to stack the Board with even more extreme, pro-bondholder appointees who will continue to put the needs of hedge funds over the Puerto Rican people. If Trump appoints creditor lobbyists to the Board, as he did in his first term, Puerto Ricans will end up paying higher energy bills for decades and facing deeper service cuts, all to boost profits on Wall Street.
 
“It’s also concerning that an unfortunate exchange during a recent Natural Resources Committee hearing ended up in the hands of bad actors, which may have helped set this chain of events in motion.
 
“At the very least, the people of Puerto Rico deserve a Board that works for them, not one that is handpicked to serve vulture funds. I will keep fighting for a just and sustainable recovery, and for the day Puerto Ricans can finally govern without the shadow of unelected, unaccountable control.”
 

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