Schakowsky Statement on Puerto Rico Assistance Bill

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after voting against the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act:

"I am deeply concerned about the serious financial situation facing Puerto Rico, and I am committed to finding solutions to help its people and businesses regain stability and prosperity. However, I cannot support legislation that asks hard-working men and women to bear more than their fair share of the recovery burden. My Republican colleagues insisted that this bill include provisions that would allow new workers to be paid subminimum wages -- up to $3 below the federal minimum wage. It exempts Puerto Rican workers from the President's overtime rule which is designed to make sure workers receive fair pay for the hours they work. It puts earned pensions at risk, undermining retirement security. At a time when Governor Rauner of Illinois is trying to use my own state's budget situation to damage the well-being of workers, these provisions are especially troubling to me. I do not want to see this dangerous model used or forced upon other states and localities that face fiscal hard times. We should not set the precedent of making working families foot the bill for problems that they did not cause."

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