Staff Reports
The 10th Annual Puerto Rican Summit was held at the Doubletree by Hilton at Sea World Orlando on May 15-17.
The conference offered an opportunity for local Puerto Rican business people to come together with business owners from Puerto Rico’s island to ponder the important issues facing Puerto Ricans in business and in America, today. Common themes at the Summit included community and economic development, government contracting opportunities and other initiatives.
On the final day of the Summit, representatives from South Florida Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce (Miami), the Puerto Rican Chamber of Central Florida (Orlando), la Cámara de Comercio de Puerto Rico (San Juan), the Florida Chapter of the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association endorsed the Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy Disclosures Act of 2019 (PRRADA), also known as H. R. 683.
The goal of the PRRADA is to revise an existing law, Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA).
PROMESA has taken heat from leaders on the left, including a presidential primary candidate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, since it was signed into law by President Obama in 2016.
This month, PROMESA made news again when Elizabeth Warren led the charge to eliminate Puerto Rico’s debt by proposing a new relief package, backed by other presidential primary competitors including Democrats Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and California’s Kamala Harris.
What’s the issue with PROMESA?
Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Summit, Luis De Rosa explains: “Our discussions reveal agreement that Puerto Rico should have the same bankruptcy transparency requirements as the mainland United States, and we support legislation that achieves this common-sense goal by fixing the flaws in PROMESA. We need to ensure that there are appropriate protections in place during Puerto Rico’s economic recovery and that every tax dollar spent in this process is done so prudently and with the appropriate oversight.”
The 2016 bill was missing key provisions of bankruptcy laws used in other parts of the United States that stand to offer transparency and protect consumers from private interest groups during a state’s bankruptcy proceedings. PRRADA fills the gaps left by PROMESA by solidifying disclosure requirements and investigating any conflicts of interest that could impact the bankruptcy process.
In a statement, De Rosa said: “We want to thank Representatives Rob Bishop, Nydia Velazquez, Darren Soto, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon – Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner – and the bipartisan group of co-sponsors who are taking a strong stand for transparency and accountability in Puerto Rico’s economic recovery process. It’s time for the full Congress to act and pass this important legislation.”
In March, H.R. 683 was referred to the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law where it is awaiting its next action.
