Puerto Rico Races To Stop Zika's Mosquitoes Before Rains Begin : Shots

The Zika virus is a health threat not just to Latin America, but also to parts of the U.S. It's already a problem in Puerto Rico where there are nearly 120 cases so far, including five pregnant women. That's a concern because Zika may be involved in causing birth defects.

The U.S. territory has declared a public health emergency and is working to protect residents from Zika and from the primary mosquito that carries the disease, Aedes aegypti. The species is largely responsible for the spread of Zika and many other tropical diseases, including yellow fever and dengue. It can breed anywhere it finds as little as a teaspoonful of standing water.

In Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities, emergency crews are looking for the places the mosquitoes breed. In Guaynabo, a suburb of Puerto Rico's capital San Juan, Luis Hernandez gets out of his truck to take a look at some old tires piled outside a home. Hernandez is an entomologist who advises local authorities on how to combat the A. aegypti.

He dips a cup into one of the tires and shows me what's inside. A dozen or more mosquito larvae wriggle in the water.

"That means this tire has been here for more than one week," Hernandez says. "Because of the size of the larvae, I know how long the tire's been here."

There are dumps of old tires from automobiles and trucks everywhere in Puerto Rico. That's because the recycling fees customers pay when they purchase tires don't cover the actual cost of disposal. Tires pile up and they become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Puerto Rico's legislature has passed an emergency measure to pay the cost of picking up and recycling tires. In Guaynabo, emergency response crews have already started collecting the tires, sending a grapple truck to clean up 15 sites in the municipality.

Crews are also working to remove standing water around schools, abandoned houses and even cemeteries, where flower vases can serve as mosquito breeding areas.

Unsealed septic tanks can also be a problem. Crews will inspect and install screens over vents where they're needed.

Puerto Rico's governor wants this work done in 45 days, before the start of the rainy season.

In Guaynabo, no cases of Zika have been reported yet. But long before most people had heard of Zika, Guaynabo was dealing with another tropical disease — dengue. It's sometimes called bonebreak fever, and can lead to death.

"We had many, many cases. Dengue was really hard here," says Dr. Silvia Medina, Guaynabo's former health director. Medina is helping Guaynabo now as a consultant, taking charts, pictures and information about Zika out to the community. She did something similar during the last dengue outbreak.

"We went into the communities, school, churches – everywhere," Medina says. "We had good results. When people are educated they're healthy people."

As part of the public health emergency, Puerto Rico is asking all residents to check their homes and the homes of their neighbors for standing water and mosquitoes. A big problem in Puerto Rico is that most homes aren't air conditioned and many lack screens, so residents are exposed to more mosquitoes.

Hernandez says fumigation trucks respond quickly when crews get calls from areas where there are lots of mosquitoes. But A. aegypti mosquitoes spend much of their time indoors, Hernandez says, so aerial spraying is often not effective. And when the fumigation trucks begin spraying in a neighborhood, residents often close their windows, he says.

Hernandez throws up his hands in frustration. "If the mosquito is inside with you, and you close the window," he says, you and your family may still be bitten.

The Obama administration has asked Congress for more than $200 million to help Puerto Rico protect residents. Dr. Johnny Rullan is a former Puerto Rico secretary of health who is advising the government on its Zika response. After outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya and now Zika, Rullan says, it's clear Puerto Rico has to get serious about protecting residents from A. aegypti.

"We will have to do like we did for yellow fever," he says. "We declared war on yellow fever and Puerto Rico was successful. We have declared war now on the Aedes aegypti mosquito and we need to win it."

Puerto Rico is scrambling to adopt mosquito control measures in the next six weeks, before the rainy season begins. Rullan says these are measures that the island should already have put in place — over the last 30 years.

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Mosquito larvae fill the cup of stale water that entomologist Luis Hernandez dips from a stack of old tires in a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Greg Allen/NPR



Puerto Rico Races To Stop Zika's Mosquitoes Before Rains Begin : Shots

With CDC Help, Puerto Rico Aims To Get Ahead Of Zika : Shots - Health News : NPR

The Zika virus now has a foothold in a U.S. territory. Puerto Rico is reporting at least 117 Zika cases, including at least five pregnant women. That's of special concern because of Zika's possible link to birth defects.

In Bayamon, a San Juan suburb, Monica Figueroa is waiting in line at a lunch truck. She's a nurse who works at a nearby clinic and she is pregnant — "about five months and a few weeks, something like that," she says in Spanish. Figueroa knows about Zika. She says she's wearing mosquito repellent but is not especially worried.

"No one seems to be paying much attention to it," she says.

Compared with other tropical diseases carried by mosquitoes, such as dengue or chikungunya, the symptoms of those infected with Zika are usually mild. Only about a fifth of those infected actually get sick. But at least one person with Zika in Puerto Rico has developed a neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre, which may be linked to the disease.

Zika is especially concerning for pregnant women because it may cause birth defects — in particular, microcephaly. Arlene Coto is in her last trimester and worried. She had just come from seeing her doctor.

"He says not to be alarmed," she says. Still, she's taking steps at home to protect her family from mosquitoes. "We have to fumigate and use repellent."

Like many in Puerto Rico, Coto doesn't have screens on her windows. That's something the island's government is working to address, with help from federal authorities. Puerto Rico is installing screens in the island's high schools and plans to make screens available for the homes of pregnant women.

"We have to do what we didn't do for 30 years in 45 days," says Dr. Johnny Rullan, Puerto Rico's former secretary of health. Rullan is an epidemiologist trained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is advising the government on its Zika response.

While Zika is new to Puerto Rico, the island has extensive experience with other tropical diseases, including dengue, which infects thousands of Puerto Ricans each year.

Faced with several dozen Zika cases, the island's government has done something it has never done with dengue. It has declared a public health emergency.

There's good reason for that, Rullan says. Pregnant women are being infected now.

"People don't understand that the battle is going to be in October," he says. "If babies start being born with microcephaly in October, November, December, we lost the battle. Prevention has to be nine months ahead."

More than 90 percent of pregnant women in Puerto Rico receive nutritional services though government-run centers, Rullan says. All these women will be screened for Zika, and any found to be infected will be monitored.

Rullan has closely followed the progress of one of the pregnant women infected with Zika.

"She will be tested at Week 16 with an amniocentesis," he says. "Every four weeks, she'll have a sonogram."

Puerto Rico isn't facing Zika alone. A team of stateside researchers has been dispatched from the CDC. In addition, the 70 employees of the CDC's Dengue Branch, which is located on the island, are now focused on Zika.

Dr. Dana Thomas, an epidemiologist with the CDC, is working in the office of Puerto Rico's secretary of health to monitor Zika's spread. When chikungunya hit the island in 2014, it was during the rainy season. Thomas says it took just four months for the disease to spread throughout Puerto Rico.

Because the majority of people don't show symptoms, Thomas says, tracking Zika is more problematic. The worst may still be ahead.

"We picked this up technically in our dry season," she says of the first Zika cases in Puerto Rico. "So the question is, 'What will happen in April or May as we have more rain and potentially more mosquitoes?' "

Complicating Puerto Rico's fight with Zika is the island's financial crisis. To deal with its massive debt, Puerto Rico has laid off thousands of public employees in recent years, including many in public health.

To help the island meet the challenge, the Obama administration is asking Congress for nearly $500 million. That's money that will be used to shore up the health care system and support Puerto Rico's fight against Zika.



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Previous experience with dengue outbreaks in Puerto Rico has shown that even small amounts of standing water — as in the vases of cemeteries — can serve as breeding areas for the mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika.

With CDC Help, Puerto Rico Aims To Get Ahead Of Zika : Shots - Health News : NPR

UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury's Lew meets with Puerto Rico bondholders

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew met with Puerto Rico bondholders on Friday, urging them to take part in an effort to restructure the U.S. territory's debt.

Lew told the group of bondholders that Puerto Rico needs an "orderly restructuring" of its debt that would require approval by U.S. Congress.

"Lew urged all stakeholders to come to the table," a Treasury representative said in a statement. "He warned that a disorderly default - a likely outcome in the absence of Congressional action - could trigger protracted and costly litigation."



Puerto Rico, with around $70 billion debt, in January asked its creditors to take a huge "haircut" that would slash its total outstanding debt by about $23 billion in an opening salvo to resolve a crippling debt crisis. Creditors immediately reacted with frustration, calling the offer "not credible," "not serious" and a "trial balloon."



Lew on Friday reiterated previous comments that Puerto Rico urgently needs federal legislation to establish an orderly process for the territory to restructure its debts, alongside independent fiscal oversight.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Counselor Antonio Weiss will be a witness at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing next week on Puerto Rico, after which lawmakers are expected to begin drafting legislation.



Republicans plan to bring a bill addressing Puerto Rico's debt crisis to the floor of the House by the end of March.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)

UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury's Lew meets with Puerto Rico bondholders

HHS pushes Congress for Puerto Rico health funds

The Obama administration is calling for Congress to act to increase healthcare funding for Puerto Rico through changes to the Medicaid program there.



The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday highlighted requests President Obama made in his budget last week to increase healthcare funding for the island territory, part of a broader administration push to assist Puerto Rico and address its debt crisis.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in December directed House committees to come up with a solution to the debt crisis by the end of March after a remedy was not included in that month’s spending bill despite a push from Democrats.

“A true solution for the 3.5 million Americans living in Puerto Rico, including reforms to strengthen Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program, such as raising the federal share of Medicaid funding, requires Congress to act,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a statement Thursday.

On the healthcare front, the administration is calling on Congress to lift a cap, which is not in place for the 50 states, on Medicaid funds provided to the island.

The proposal also calls for increasing the share of Medicaid paid for by the federal government from 55 percent to 83 percent over time. Finally, the administration wants Congress to raise the eligibility threshold for Medicaid, which is lower in Puerto Rico than it is in the states, up to 100 percent of the poverty level.

Puerto Rico’s healthcare problems are complicated by the Zika virus, which is expected to hit the territory far harder than the 50 states.





The White House’s Zika funding request to Congress includes about $250 million in funding for health assistance for pregnant women and other costs.

Puerto Rico has been helped by a one-time influx of federal health funding from the Affordable Care Act, but those funds are set to expire in 2019, which the administration warns could lead to 600,000 people losing healthcare coverage.

In fact, officials said Puerto Rico appears to be burning through the funds at a faster rate, meaning they would run out before 2019. HHS said that highlights the need for Congress to provide the new health funding it is requesting.







By Peter Sullivan

HHS pushes Congress for Puerto Rico health funds

Puerto Rico may have better chance of Supreme Court win after Scalia death

Financially troubled Puerto Rico's push for a debt restructuring program could get a lift from the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who was viewed as likely to oppose granting such relief in an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case.

The highest U.S. federal court in December agreed to hear Puerto Rico's bid to reinstate a 2014 law called the Recovery Act after it was struck down by a lower court.

The government of the U.S. territory, which has around $70 billion in borrowings, hoped the act would help it to restructure its debt and pull it out of a fiscal crisis. It would give the Caribbean island more power to impose conditions on creditors in a debt restructuring, which could worsen creditor recoveries, bondholders had argued.

"Scalia has been a fairly aggressive defender of contractual rights over the years," said Height Securities analyst Daniel Hanson, who estimated the chances of a Puerto Rico victory have risen to around 30 percent from five percent after Scalia's death.

Scalia, who served on the Supreme Court for nearly 30 years, died at a ranch in Texas last Saturday, setting up a major political showdown between President Barack Obama and the Republican-controlled Senate over who will replace him on the nine-member court.

A Supreme Court victory could help strengthen the arguments of island officials and a number of Democrats in their campaign to give Puerto Rico bankruptcy protection rights, which U.S. states already receive. That effort has been stunted by lack of Republican support.

The Recovery Act was designed to apply to some of Puerto Rico's public corporations, such as utility PREPA, but excluded debt issued by the island and its Government Development Bank.

PREPA bondholders Oppenheimer Funds and Franklin Templeton sued Puerto Rico, claiming the act would enable Puerto Rico to modify debt obligations. A U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico a year ago voided the Recovery Act saying it contravened federal bankruptcy law, and a U.S. appeals court affirmed that last July.



The Puerto Rican government and its lawyers, as well as a representative for the bondholder plaintiffs, did not respond to requests for comment or declined comment.



RECUSED HIMSELF

Scalia's death means that only seven justices are likely to vote on the Puerto Rico case as Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative, who had investments in funds with Puerto Rico bonds, last year recused himself.

If there had been a tied 4-4 vote it would have automatically upheld the lower court's decision. Alito could still participate if he divests investments before the oral argument.



Of the remainder of the justices, four are viewed as liberals and three as conservatives. The latter are seen by some restructuring experts as more likely to support creditors on the basis of contractual business rights.

"The four liberal justices are the justices most likely to be sympathetic to Puerto Rico’s arguments," said David Skeel, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania law school, who said Scalia’s death creates the possibility that the liberal block will prevail by a 4-3 vote. Skeel wrote a brief supporting Puerto Rico's position in the case.

Still, the restructuring experts said that it may be too simple to suggest that Scalia would have voted against Puerto Rico as the case involves complex legal questions.

Richard Levin, Co-head of Jenner & Block’s Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department, said the court tries very hard to apply the law, rather than allow political leanings to dominate its decisions.



Carlos Del Valle Cruz, counsel for Eduardo Bhatia, president of Puerto Rico's Senate, also said that Scalia's absence may favor Puerto Rico.

A complicating factor is a separate case which was just argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. That concerns the indictment of two men by Puerto Rico prosecutors on gun charges, and their subsequent indictment by a federal grand jury. Both pleaded guilty to the federal charges and were sentenced to prison but the case in Puerto Rico continued.

The U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli has argued that the Puerto Rico prosecution violated double jeopardy laws that ban trying a defendant twice for the same crime in the same jurisdiction, while Puerto Rico's government countered that its rights to self-governance were threatened.

Nicholos Venditti, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, said rulings in both cases could "have significant implications for Puerto Rico and the U.S. that reach far beyond the $70 billion in debt."

John Miller, co-head of fixed income for Nuveen Asset Management, which holds around $300 million in par value of insured Puerto Rican paper, said the concern with the Recovery Act being reinstated would be the potential for it to be expanded to other issuers beyond the public agencies it was originally designed for.

Oral arguments in the Supreme Court case are scheduled to be held March 22.



(Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Martin Howell)

The bench of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is seen draped with black wool crepe in memoriam inside the Supreme Court in Washington February 16, 2016.

Reuters/Carlos Barria

By Megan Davies

Puerto Rico may have better chance of Supreme Court win after Scalia death

At Puerto Rico’s Power Company, a Recipe for Toxic Air, and Debt

As a lab director at Puerto Rico’s power authority, Abraham Ortiz uncovered what he suspected was a pattern of lawlessness in the authority’s purchasing department, a secretive place where officials controlled contracts to buy billions of dollars’ worth of oil.

For years, he reported to his superiors, the authority bought cheap, residual oil that failed to meet federal clean-air standards, and faked tests to make it look like it had passed. Ledgers were falsified too, he said, to make it appear as though the authority had actually bought the higher-grade oil, which cost more. The higher price was then passed on to consumers.

Giving some credence to Mr. Ortiz’s first complaints in the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency found that the oil being burned by the authority did, indeed, contain unacceptable levels of sulfur, which rained down in a toxic mix on neighborhoods near the power plants for years.

Where did the warnings get Mr. Ortiz? The utility closed his lab and sent him to work in another department, where he would not have oversight duties for the testing of oil.

Now, about 25 years later, Mr. Ortiz is being heard. A committee of the Puerto Rico Senate has been pulling back the curtain on the mysterious purchasing department, the Fuel Procurement Office. And Mr. Ortiz, now retired, has been a star witness.

“It was a scheme,” he told the senators last week, “and it went on for years.”

The questions about the oil are part of a much larger mandate the Senate has taken on — determining how the authority became mired in more than $9 billion in debt it says it cannot pay. The debt troubles could not be more pressing, as the legislature faces a deadline on Tuesday for a vote on the authority’s plan for renegotiating that debt.

While it is clear that the authority’s financial downfall is complex and multifaceted, the question of whether it bought dirty oil while billing customers for clean oil stands out as one of the most charged issues it is facing. If true, the accusations would go beyond errors in judgment and amount to a decades-long fraud.

Abraham Ortiz has been testifying before a committee of the Puerto Rico Senate about the Fuel Procurement Office. Credit Jose Jimenez-Tirado for The New York Times

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

At Puerto Rico’s Power Company, a Recipe for Toxic Air, and Debt

Steps Toward Settling Puerto Rico’s Debt

■ How much of Puerto Rico’s overall debt is because of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority?

Puerto Rico’s total debt, most of it in the form of municipal bonds, has a face value of about $72 billion. Of that amount, about $9 billion was issued by the power authority.

■ What are the next steps to help the authority get out from under the debt?

After the authority came to the brink of default in 2014, creditors agreed to work with it on a restructuring plan. The parties have now agreed on such a plan, which would reduce the principal amount by 15 percent and slow the payment schedule. They must now wait for Puerto Rican legislators to approve it and for a new regulatory body to authorize crucial elements. Puerto Rico’s government has begun calling for relief on most of its other debts, adding tremendous legal and political uncertainty.

■ What happens if creditors and the island’s government can’t agree on what to do about the debt?

On July 1, the authority has a scheduled debt payment of about $423 million, which it does not have the cash to pay. The consequences of missing the payment are unpredictable, but they could include widespread power disruptions on the island, which would set back economic activity and cause other hardships.

■ Is Congress going to help the island? If so, when and how?

Committees with relevant jurisdiction — over bankruptcy, government finances and territorial affairs — have been taking expert testimony on available options, but a consensus has yet to emerge. One idea now being discussed is putting Puerto Rico’s finances into the hands of a federal control board. But there are concerns that such a board might improperly curtail self-government on the island. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, a Republican and the speaker of the House, has set an end-of-March deadline for a House proposal to aid Puerto Rico.

■ What are the next big moments coming up for Puerto Rico and its debt troubles?

The power authority’s July 1 payment is just one of almost $2 billion in debt payments due on that date from various branches of the Puerto Rican government. Puerto Rico is widely presumed to not have the cash, raising the prospect of a disorderly default. As a territory, Puerto Rico has no access to bankruptcy, and much of the negotiating going on now is seeking some alternative to bankruptcy that would also have the effect of holding off creditor lawsuits.

A view of San Juan Bay and the Palo Seco Power Plant owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Credit Christopher Gregory for The New York Times

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

Steps Toward Settling Puerto Rico’s Debt

Group Warns Ryan Over Puerto Rico Debt Precedent

The president of a conservative policy group this week warned Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) against allowing the House to approve a debt-restructuring plan for Puerto Rico because of the precedent it would set under U.S. bankruptcy law.

Jeffrey Mazzella, the president of the Alexandria-based Center for Individual Freedom, said in a Feb. 11 letter that approving a restructuring plan “would circumvent nearly a century of established bankruptcy law by giving the island far broader restructuring capabilities than are available to states, and by taking the restructuring process out of the experienced hands of the federal courts and handing it to unelected Washington bureaucrats.”

“In granting the island this bailout, lawmakers would be sending a clear and decisive message to profligate states that refuse to balance their budgets: Fiscal reform is unimportant, because when push comes to shove, Congress will rewrite the rules to give you a free pass,” Mazzella wrote.

Ryan has pledged to bring up a bill to resolve Puerto Rico’s debt crisis before the end of March, but has not specified what exact solution he prefers. The House Natural Resources Committee is currently in the process of reviewing policy proposals and coming up with legislation on the issue.

Ryan Rainey

Group Warns Ryan Over Puerto Rico Debt Precedent

Puerto Rico to restructure electric utility

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The Puerto Rico senate passed legislation late on Wednesday that will grant the island’s electric utility the ability to restructure its nearly $9bn of debt, clearing a hurdle that had briefly caused negotiations between creditors and the electric group to collapse earlier this year.

The upper chamber of the US commonwealth’s legislature approved the Prepa Revitalisation Act in a vote of 16 to 10.

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The bill, which would levy a surcharge on resident accounts to service bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority — known as Prepa — and improve its ability to collect on outstanding customer bills, is one component that underpins the restructuring. The deal also saw creditors including Franklin Templeton, Oppenheimer and BlueMountain Capital Management agree to a 15 per cent haircut on their debt holdings.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives must pass similar legislation before February 16, when the restructuring agreement between creditors and Prepa expires. The deal had fallen apart in January after the island’s legislature had failed to pass the act by a previously agreed date.

Prepa is expected to use some of the savings to modernise its power generation fleet and to increase its shift to natural gas from more expensive crude oil. The utility generates more than two-thirds of its electricity production with oil.

“The passage of the bill by the senate demonstrates the continued progress we are making to transform Prepa,” said Javier Quintana Méndez, executive director of the utility. “Through this transformation, which our board initiated over a year ago, we can resolve our financial situation.”

Policymakers and advisers to the commonwealth have heralded the agreement over Prepa’s debt as a model to use when negotiating restructures of other Puerto Rican entities, including the $4bn in debt issued by the island’s water and sewer utility. 

Negotiations between Puerto Rico and its creditors have intensified ahead of a July 1 payment that policymakers and investors have conceded the poverty-stricken island will be unable to make without a debt service moratorium. 

The passage of the bill by the senate demonstrates the continued progress we are making to transformPrepa

- Javier Quintana Méndez, executive director of Prepa

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Earlier on Wednesday, a group of investors holding debt issued by the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation, known by its Spanish acronym Cofina, presented the first counter offer since the US territory put forth a significant restructuring proposal last week.

Investors and advisers say they expect several more counter proposals from competing classes of creditors to be launched in the coming weeks.

Policymakers are also awaiting action from the US Congress, with Republican speaker of the House Paul Ryan setting a March deadline for the legislature to offer a solution to the escalating crisis.

eric.platt@ft.com

Twitter: @ericgplatt

Eric Platt
Puerto Rico to restructure electric utility

Hatch blasts Obama's Puerto Rico proposals

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Wednesday blasted the White House's proposals to restructure Puerto Rico's debt.

“I do not believe the administration has been straightforward about the nature of the debt-restructuring authority it is seeking for the territory,” Hatch said at a hearing on the Obama budget released a day earlier.

The Obama administration would allow Puerto Rico to undergo a “comprehensive restructuring” of its debts that would be broader than the Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections offered to municipalities.

Hatch criticized this idea, saying it would give Puerto Rico “unprecedented” restructuring authority. Hatch also expressed concerns that the proposal would prioritize pension liabilities over bondholders despite a provision in Puerto Rico’s constitution that requires the island to pay "general obligation" debt first. He noted that the commonwealth’s debt is often held by retirees.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the hearing’s sole witness, said that Puerto Ricans’ pension contributions are being paid to bondholders.

“That’s not a tenable arrangement,” he said. He added that the administration has not said that all bondholders have to be treated equally.

Lew also said that Puerto Rico doesn’t have the capacity to support all of its debt service. If Puerto Rico doesn’t have the ability to restructure its debt, the commonwealth will be subject to a decade of litigation from bondholders, he said.

“You’ll have a lost decade,” Lew said.

Several Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee expressed support for restructuring authority for Puerto Rico.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), said the Puerto Rico issue is "really consequential to millions of people" and that the debate over it has been politicized by hedge funds that want to maximize their profits.

Hatch also took a shot at the administration’s proposal to provide about $30 billion for increased Medicaid funds to Puerto Rico.



The senator said that he had been asking the administration how much health funding it wanted for Puerto Rico since last summer and that the budget was the first time  the administration proposed specific numbers.

“Why it took until now for these details to emerge is beyond me,” he said.

Hatch sent a letter to Puerto Rico’s governor on Wednesday asking him to provide current financial information.







By Naomi Jagoda

Hatch blasts Obama's Puerto Rico proposals

Obama budget includes bankruptcy power, billions in relief for Puerto Rico

President Obama is proposing to provide Puerto Rico with billions of dollars in relief, in addition to allow the territory to declare bankruptcy on some of its debt.

The president’s fiscal 2017 budget proposal, released Tuesday, includes several policy changes aimed squarely at helping the territory boost its economy, and get out from under a debt burden island officials say is unmanageable.

Among the changes are bankruptcy power for Puerto Rico, an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to the island, and increased Medicaid funds. All the policy changes, if enacted, would apply to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. The president’s plan would also subject the island to “strong fiscal oversight,” but does not detail exactly how.

After years of economic decline, Puerto Rican officials are warning the island will not be able to pay off its most important debts for more than a few months at most. The issue of how to help the island, and the millions of American citizens living there, has become a top priority for Congress. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has vowed to produce legislation on the matter by the end of March.

The White House plan would allow Puerto Rico to undergo a “comprehensive restructuring” of its debts, a move likely to be fiercely contested by investors in Puerto Rican debt eager to be paid in full.

By Peter Schroeder

Obama budget includes bankruptcy power, billions in relief for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico bank-owned homes being sold in online auction

More than 100 Puerto Rico bank-owned properties are set to be sold in a four day auction with starting bids starting from $100 for a land plot.

The properties, many of which are financeable, include single family homes and multi-family properties. They are being sold individually and in “as is” condition by Auction.com.

The online bidding begins on Sunday 21 February and ends on Wednesday 24 February and Auction.com is also offering a 3% broker co-op on all properties included.

Most of the properties are vacant and will be available for viewing at open houses held on Saturday February 13 and February 20. Title insurance is included for every property and closings are expected within 45-60 days.

Limited data on home sales in Puerto Rico suggest that the market is currently sitting at or near its bottom, providing an enticing long-term opportunity for investors, says Auction.com.

The island’s well-publicized economic woes have also made it difficult for potential home buyers there to secure mortgages, and have led to household over-crowding – both of which suggest that Puerto Rico may become an exceptionally vibrant rental market for investors who do not require financing and employ a buy-and-hold rental strategy.

Auction.com General Manager Jason Allnutt, says, “This special event is another example of the global nature of real estate, and how our online platform can bring exciting opportunities to investors around the world.

“These properties are priced to sell, presenting a great opportunity for both investors looking for rental homes in Puerto Rico and to first-time homebuyers in the region who are able to secure financing. We’re pleased to bring such a large selection of these properties to auction in a single event and plan to develop a more expansive program in the near future.”

Auction.com will host a free educational seminar on 13 February in Orlando, Florida to help interested buyers prepare for the upcoming online auction event. Attendees will learn about the online auction process and how they can leverage this format to successfully make real estate investments. The event will be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott, at 8701 World Center Drive in Orlando, Florida. For details visit Auction.com/ConciergeOrlando.

Auction.com, a Ten-X company, is a leading online real estate marketplace, focused exclusively on the sale of bank-owned and foreclosure properties to real estate investors.

 Adrian Bishop

Puerto Rico bank-owned homes being sold in online auction