MassLive: Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey seek debt relief for Puerto Rico amid hurricane recovery

With debt-related issues impacting Puerto Rico's efforts to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey announced legislation Wednesday that seeks to offer relief to the island and other American territories ravaged by the September storms.

The Massachusetts Democrats, who joined U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Kamala Harris, D-California, in offering the bill, said the measure would give eligible disaster-damaged territories the option to terminate their debt obligations.

Noting that Congress's previous attempt to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis occurred before the hurricanes hit the island, the senators cautioned that the effort was not designed to account for such devastation.

The "U.S. Territorial Relief Act," they argued, is needed to allow places like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where debt has complicated disaster response and impeded investments, to "recover and rebuild with dignity."

Warren said the bill would give Puerto Rico and other territories "a route to comprehensive debt relief and a chance to get back on their feet."

Read the full story on the MassLive website here.

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