‘Modest’ Tweaks for Puerto Rico Bill as Republicans Mull Stance
- After closed-door meeting, timing for next steps is unclear
- Republican leaders made case that measure will prevent bailout
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy exits a press at the Capitol on Feb. 10, 2016.
Photographer: Gabriella Demczuk/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop said Friday there will be “modest” tweaks to a draft bill aimed at addressing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, but said the timing for advancing the measure remains unclear.
Republican backers and detractors of the measure emerged from a closed-door meeting agreeing that depictions of the measure as a taxpayer bailout of the island are false, but sharp disagreements remain over several aspects of the bill. Those areas include how to design any forced restructuring of creditor debt, particularly the question of which classes of bondholders would get paid first.