A redrafted version of a bill aimed at dealing with the Puerto Rico debt crisis is expected to be released after Congress comes back from a week-long recess, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman [crscore]Rob Bishop[/crscore] said Friday.
The committee postponed a markup to allow the island to restructure its debt following concerns from members on both sides of the political spectrum.
The commonwealth currently holds $70 billion in debt and is poised to miss a $422 million interest payment May 1.
“We’ll probably redraft the bill and drop another one,” he said, according to The Hill. “We can’t drop it until we come back.”
House Speaker [crscore]Paul Ryan[/crscore] said the committee has been working with the Department of the Treasury on the technicalities of restructuring and is close to finding a solution.
Republicans have made it clear the legislation won’t involve a bailout and say they are focused on getting it right.
Bishop said he believes the bill will make it through the lower chamber.
“We’re going to carry it. We’ll carry it with a majority of Republican votes,” Bishop said. “The number of Republicans opposed to it on my committee is highly overstated.”
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