Republicans missed a self-imposed deadline on Friday to aid Puerto Rico's ongoing debt crisis.
The third and final version of the expected legislation would create a control board to manage the territory's financial obligations and oversee debt reconstruction, the Associated Press reports. Critics have been concerned that the bill would grant too much power to creditors.
“We have one shot at getting this right. We’re going to do it right,” said Republican Representative Rob Bishop of Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
“If Puerto Rico spins out into economic chaos, you may never have a chance of recovering again, and you’re going to hurt people,” Bishop said during an interview on C-Span’s Newsmakers. "We can’t screw it up.”
Shortly after the deadline expired, House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement saying that his party will propose the "best, most responsible legislation to tackle Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis while protecting American taxpayers.” He added that Republicans are working with Democrats and the Obama Administration to ensure the bill is ready in "the coming days."
According to the AP, both parties hope to introduce and pass the bill in the House and Senate before the US territory defaults on a $2 billion debt payment on July 1.
Several Obama Administration officials visited Puerto Rico in recent months, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Thomas Frieden and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who has warned that the threats facing Puerto Rico are both “immediate and real.”
“Hospitals continue to lay off workers, ration medication, reduce services and close floors,” Secretary Lew said in a letter urging Congress to act on the crisis. “Despite the intensifying threat from the Zika virus, financial constraints have made it extremely difficult to counteract.”
