pierluisi? >> i oppose the amendment, and let me explain why.first of all, this legislation creates the board that is in charge of approving a long-term fiscal plan for puerto rico your at least five years worth of budgets and fiscal discipline. and one of the factors that the board is told has to take into account is puerto rico's ability to balance its budget. it's one of the factors light after no fiscal plan will be approved by the board unless the government of puerto rico is balancing its books. it's a simple as that. been the board as well is in charge of approving the budget of the government of puerto rico on a yearly basis. and ensuring that they are properly balanced. so that's the board's job. we should be expecting the board to do what is, what is entrusted to do. now, in terms of puerto rico's constitution, that is a matter for the supreme court of puerto rico to handle. the supreme court of puerto rico is the ultimate interpreter of our own constitution. and this language that you are laying out hasn't been ruled yet or held yet b

pierluisi. >> i oppose the amendment and let me explain why. first of all, this legislation creates a board that is in charge of approving a long-term fiscal plan for puerto rico. at least five years worth of budgets and fiscal discipline. and one of the factors that the board is told it has to take into account is puerto rico's ability to balance its budget. it's one of the factors laid out. no fiscal plan will be approved by the board unless the government of puerto rico is balancing its books. as simple as that. then the board, as well, is in charge of approving the budgets of the government of puerto rico on a yearly basis. and ensuring that they're properly balanced. so, that's the board's job. and we should be expecting the board to do what is entrusted to do. now, in terms of puerto rico's constitution, that is a matter for the supreme court of puerto rico to handle. the supreme court of puerto rico is the ultimate interpreter of our own constitution and this language that you're laying out hasn't been ruled yet or held yet by the suprem

ladies and gentlemen resident commissioner from puerto rico, the honorable pedro pierluisi.se] >> the u.s. territory of puerto rico faces enormous challenges. it has been difficult for my constituents and i to see the island we love suffer. and it is easy to lose spirit as the good name of your home is tarnished. too often associated with the negative rather than the positive. that is why even though the korean war ended 60 years ago, today's ceremony could not be more timely. the american soldiers from puerto rico, who formed the core of the 65th infantry regiment, remind the public of the extraordinary contributions that puerto rico has made to this country since 1898. in times of both war and peace. the borinqueneers remind me of the 3.5 million u.s. citizens i represent. why we are so proud to be puerto rican at a time when our sense of pride has been shaken, but never ever shattered. we should draw strength and inspiration from their legacy and emulate their example. after all, this band of brothers overcame adversity of the most extreme sort, fighting the enemy on the

pierluisi. >> i personal ly am under extree political pressure in dealing with this issue. and i don't want my fellow elected officials in puerto rico to have to bear it as well. it is very difficult to accept oversight over the government of puerto rico. the only reason i'm doing it is because i am convinced, as are so many others, that puerto rico needs a broad debt restructuring mechanism. and the will of my colleagues here in congress seems to be that the only way that we will be afforded this debt restructuring mechanism is through a federal oversight board. now, puerto rico's in crisis. and we do have a responsibility here under the territory clause of the constitution to watch over the well-being of the american citizens living in puerto rico. it is our responsibility, whether i like it or not. i'd rather have puerto rico as a state. and we wouldn't be considering this legislation. but we are because puerto rico's not a state, it is not treated like a state, and frankly part of the problem is caused by the current status. as a result of the current status. but again,

pierluisi. >> i rise in opposition to this amendment. first, in terms of the impact that the potential restructuring we're authorizing could have in the municipal markets, there's no such negative impact. there has been testimony before this committee, coming from john miller, managing director of nuvene asset management. mr. miller, who oversees over $113 billion of tax-exempt municipal investments in america, this is one of the largest holders of municipal debt. testified that -- to the contrary. approving this legislation will be generally viewed positively in the markets. it will stabilize puerto rico itself, the government of puerto rico, but it will also have a positive impact elsewhere. traditional mutual funds like alig aligns, burns, and pimco have also stated there's not going to be any impact in the municipal markets at large if we approve this legislation as is. "wall street journal" and bloomberg have also issued editorials supporting this legislation and saying that it's not going to have a negative impact in the municipal

i also would like to thank my colleague, congressman pierluisi, for his stalwart support and for his work on this bipartisan bill. the chairman of the judiciary committee is correct in recognizing that federal law often fails to keep up with the law breakers. as a i am aware of the ways criminal organizations adapt their practices to skirt federal law and harm american citizens. this bill directly responds to one scenario that has played out time and again in our federal courts. i would like to start by making a key point about the purpose of this bill and the type of organizations it targets. our focus through this bill is the leadership of sophisticated , often multinational drug trafficking organizations, with expansive networks of istribution internationally. this includes source nation manufacturers, primarily in south and central america. they are a significant source, if not the largest source, of deadly drugs on the streets and in homes across america. it also includes the leaders of large middleman wholesale trafficking and distribution organizations. i want to stress that t

pierluisi. >> i have always advocated for strict compliance with our constitution. fact, when this crisis began, when the government of puerto rico approved a local bankruptcy law this was back in june 2014, the first thing i did was to introduce legislation giving puerto rico access to chapter nine of the bankruptcy code. i was simply asking congress to treat puerto rico as a state for purposes of bankruptcy. that bill was assigned to the judiciary committee. it didn't get traction. there were some reservations vi