United States Territorial Relief Act of 2019
Latest action · May 3, 2019 Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 3, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
United States Territorial Relief Act of 2019
This bill establishes a process under which Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories may terminate certain debts if they meet eligibility criteria.
The bill allows territories to terminate their public, unsecured debt if they meet two of three criteria:
- the population of the territory has decreased by more than 5% over 10 years,
- the territory received major federal disaster assistance, or
- the territory's per capita debt exceeds $15,000.
If Puerto Rico discharges its debt under this process, the bill provides funding that a special master must allocate to certain creditors whose debts were discharged.
The bill also establishes a Puerto Rico Public Credit Comprehensive Audit Commission.
Cosponsors 15
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 3, 2019 to Jul 27, 2020; 9 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Original | May 3, 2019 |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | May 10, 2019 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 11, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Sep 19, 2019 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Sep 24, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Jul 1, 2020 | |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | Jul 27, 2020 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred May 3, 2019 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred May 3, 2019 |
| House | Budget Committee | Referred May 3, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 3, 2019Introduced in House
- May 3, 2019Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 73, May 3, 2019, page H3448.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1312 | United States Territorial Relief Act of 2019 | Identical bill | May 2, 2019 |
| HR 6827 | United States Territorial Relief Act of 2018 | Reintroduction of | Sep 24, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide the option of discharging certain unsecured financial obligations of self-governing territories of the United States.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- United States Territorial Relief Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Accounting and auditing
- Appropriations
- Bank accounts, deposits, capital
- Bankruptcy
- Budget deficits and national debt
- Caribbean area
- Civil actions and liability
- Disaster relief and insurance
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal district courts
- Government liability
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Judicial review and appeals
- Jurisdiction and venue
- Puerto Rico
- Securities
- State and local finance
- U.S. territories and protectorates
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 3, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
