National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: How much time do we have before the vote?
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Mr. DURBIN. There is 18 minutes a side, I understand?
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Mr. DURBIN. Is that divided on position on the bill or on a partisan basis?
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Mr. DURBIN. Thank you.
I see the Senator from Oklahoma seeking recognition.
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, how much time remains on both sides?
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Mr. DURBIN. I am going to speak, and I know my colleague and friend from New Jersey is here and opposes the measure. I have been given 8 minutes, and I don't know how much of that time I will use. I will try to leave whatever is left for his use. I know he spoke yesterday, but I am sure he wants to speak again this morning. I will yield whatever is left.
The other remaining time, as I understand, is controlled by the other side.
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Mr. DURBIN. I ask for a clarification. Is there still 5 minutes remaining for the Senator from New Jersey?
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Mr. DURBIN. If I don't use my entire time, I will yield the remainder to the Senator from New Jersey for those with opposing positions.
Mr. President, many times on the floor of the Senate we are faced with difficult, sometimes impossible choices. At the end of the day, you wish you could sit down and write a solution that you believe would achieve its purpose and do it in the most responsible manner. Many times we don't get that luxury, and this is an example.
Puerto Rico is in a unique relationship with the United States. Some have said this agreement is in the nature of a colonial imposition on the island of Puerto Rico. As the laws currently stand, Puerto Rico cannot save itself. It is $70 billion in debt, and those who hold the debt--the bond holders--are demanding payment.
The Puerto Rican economy is struggling to survive and struggling to make a $2 billion payment on that debt by July 1. Under these emergency circumstances, there is only one place to turn. It is not an imposing colonial power; it is the United States of America that has been in partnership with Puerto Rico in the past and should be for its future.
We are trying to find a reasonable way through this that will appeal to both political parties. Of course, the political parties see this differently. A Democratic solution to this looks a lot different than a Republican solution. What we have before us is a compromise. It is a measure that was entered into with the cooperation, collaboration, and bargaining between the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, the White House, and Republican leaders. So it is a mixed bag politically that comes to us today.
I support it, although I would be the first to tell you there are parts of it I find absolutely objectionable. Bringing in the notion that they are going to put their economy on solid footing by reducing the minimum wage is laughable, as far as I am concerned. If you lower that minimum wage to an unconscionable level, more and more people will leave Puerto Rico--which they can legally do--and come to the United States, where the minimum wage is significantly larger than that proposed by the Republicans. The same thing is true when it comes to overtime pay.
I struggle with the powers of this oversight board, but I understand that time and again in history, when entities like New York City and other places are facing virtual bankruptcy, an oversight board has been the vehicle to bring them to stability. I think this oversight board is loaded--even though it is 4 to 3--loaded on the other side, but I hope they will in good conscience come up with approaches that are acceptable.
What is the alternative if we vote no? We will hear a lot of Members say: Let's just vote against this and put an end to it. The alternative if we vote no is to give the bondholders, those who are holding the debt of Puerto Rico, all the cards July 1--all the cards. They can then go to court and force their hand for payment on these debts. And Puerto Rico, which is struggling to provide basic services, will have even more money taken away from them. What is a disastrous situation will become disastrously worse if we vote no and do nothing. This oversight board, for all its flaws, has the power to stop that from happening-- has the power to enter into voluntary negotiations on the debt of Puerto Rico, and if they can't reach a voluntary agreement, they have the power to go to court for restructuring all of the debt that faces the island. Now that is significant. I hope it doesn't reach that point. I hope there is a voluntary negotiation. But to say we are going to protest the creation of this board by voting against the creation of the board and this outcome I have described is to throw this poor island and the people who live there into chaos.
I received a telephone call from the archbishop of Chicago, Blase Cupich. I respect him very much. He called me on several issues, but he said: The real purpose for my call is to tell you the archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico, has reached out to me and told me of the desperate situation they are facing in Puerto Rico today. About 150 schools have closed. There is no money to buy gasoline for the buses to take the children to schools. Many of the medical services are down to zero. One doctor a day is leaving Puerto Rico, and they can't afford to lose any. Currently, at the major hospital, Centro Medico, there is a serious question as to whether children who are trying to survive cancer will have the drugs they need for a fighting chance. That is how desperate it is. He went further to say the air ambulance service on Puerto Rico, which transports the most gravely ill people to medical care, is now not flying. They can't afford to. People have to pay in cash for dialysis services.
This is a disastrous situation, and the notion that we can vote no today and not accept the consequences, which will be terrible for Puerto Rico, is not a fair analysis of this problem. Yes, I would have written a different bill. Yes, I would have constructed a different oversight board, but the choice now is not between some ideal or some better approach. The choice is before us. The choice is yes or no, and a ``no'' vote is one that is going to imperil this island and make the poor people living there face even worse hardship. How can that be a good outcome? How can we bargain for the possibility that several months from now there may be a better constructive oversight board? I think the responsible thing to do is to move forward.
Don't take my word for it alone. I represent the State of Illinois and am proud to do it. My connection to Puerto Rico is through 100,000 Puerto Ricans who live in my State. I have worked with them. I have met with them.
This morning, I received a letter from Pedro Pierluisi, who is the Member of Congress from Puerto Rico. He goes on to write:
As Puerto Rico's sole elected representative in Congress, I write to respectfully request that you vote in favor of S. 2328. . . . On June 9th, the House approved PROMESA in a strong bipartisan vote, an all-too-rare event that I hope will be replicated in the Senate this week.
He goes on to talk about the imperfections in this bill, which we all know. But he then goes on to talk about the hardships that the island of Puerto Rico is facing and will face if this bill is not passed. We have received the same request from the Governor of Puerto Rico. To ignore these people and to ignore the people who live there and the perils they face, I don't believe is a responsible course of action. I think we have to move forward in a positive fashion. That is why I am going to support this measure today and urge my colleagues to do the same. It passed with a strong bipartisan vote in the House, as the resident Congressman has related in his letter. It is an indication that as imperfect as this agreement may be, it is the best we can come up with in this terrible and perilous situation facing the island of Puerto Rico.
I urge my colleagues today to vote yes on cloture, vote yes on final passage of this bill. Give Puerto Rico a fighting chance.
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