Puerto Rico faces a government shutdown on Oct. 31, including halting its hurricane recovery, if Congress doesn’t provide billions in emergency funds, said Treasury Secretary Raul Maldonado.
The U.S. commonwealth’s bankrupt government is burning through the $1.6 billion it had on hand before Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, destroying decayed infrastructure and killing 34 people. With widespread damage to telecommunications systems and the electricity grid, Maldonado doesn’t expect to begin collecting sales tax for at least another month, he said Wednesday.
