Menendez, Rubio, Velaquez Applaud Senate Passage of Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy in Disclosures Act

Statement

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), along with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.-07), today applauded the unanimous passage of the bicameral and bipartisan Puerto Rico Recovery Accuracy in Disclosures Act (PRRADA) by the U.S. Senate. The Senate-passed bill will now head to the House of Representatives for final passage.

"When Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act in 2016, one of the many reasons I was vehemently opposed is because it included an unfair loophole that allowed bankruptcy advisers and consultants to get rich off of worsening economic inequalities in Puerto Rico without having to disclose their conflicts of interests with creditors to whom Puerto Rico owed money," said Sen. Menendez. "Today we took a monumental leap forward in righting this wrong. By unanimously passing this legislation in the Senate, the people of Puerto Rico are now one step closer to finally having the transparency they deserve in the debt restructuring process."

"It is past time to close this loophole and ensure our fellow citizens living in Puerto Rico are benefitting from transparency requirements that are afforded to Americans living on the mainland," said Sen. Rubio. "Today, the Senate has taken a step in the right direction to require advisors and consultants to Puerto Rico's Fiscal Oversight Board to disclose conflicts of interest. I look forward to seeing the legislation receive swift passage in the House."

"By applying a robust disclosure requirement to all PROMESA Title III proceedings and eliminating the double standard facing the people of Puerto Rico, this bill will help to restore confidence that the Board's bankruptcy advisors do not have their "thumb on the scale' to favor certain debts where they have a self-interest," said Rep. Velázquez. "I'm very proud that it has passed the Senate and now the House must quickly follow suit so it can become law once-and-for-all."

This bipartisan and bicameral piece of legislation would impose robust disclosure requirements on all of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board's advisers and consultants, closing a loophole in existing law that currently disadvantages the people of Puerto Rico in the island's debt restructuring process. PRRADA will require attorneys, accountants and other professionals involved in the debt restructuring to disclose potential conflicts of interests, ensuring that the people of Puerto Rico have access to the same transparency and disclosure practices required by law in U.S. mainland bankruptcy cases.

In the Senate, in addition to Sens. Menendez and Rubio, PRRADA is cosponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roger Ricker (R-Miss.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). In the House, PRRADA is also cosponsored by Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.-05), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.-03), David Cicilline (D-R.I.-01), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), Jennifer González (R-Puerto Rico), Darren Soto (D-Fla.-09), and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-15).

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