Combatting Child Poverty in Puerto Rico Through Debt Reduction

Puerto Rico is an island with roughly 3.4 million inhabitants. If the territory were a state, it would be the 29^th largest in the Union. As it stands, Puerto Rico has over $70 billion in debt. However, based upon its status as a territory, not a state, it is unable to file for Chapter Nine bankruptcy, which gives municipalities a plan to work with their creditors to resolve their debt. Since Puerto Rico is not a state, Congress is the only body that can take action on stabilizing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis.

On June 9, the House of Representatives approved the “The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Security Act” (PROMESA) by a margin of 297-127. This bipartisan bill has now moved onto the Senate. PROMESA aims to stabilize the $70 billion plus in debt and also the economy through debt restructuring, establish an oversight board and create key infrastructure improvements. Yet, the biggest problem that the island faces is the level of poverty.

The economy in Puerto Rico has been in decline for the past 10 years. Over this period more Puerto Ricans have left the island than returned to it.  On the island, the median income is just under $20,000 a year and the child poverty rate is currently at 56%. The problems do not stop there. With the poor economy, hospitals are being shut down, infrastructure is failing, and to top it off, the Zika virus has recently been detected on the island. If nothing is done soon, these conditions will continue to worsen.

This summer, I am paired with Jubilee USA Network, a coalition of over 550 faith communities and organizations that fight for debt relief for my internship through Machon Kaplan. Jubilee has been on the forefront of combating the debt crisis. They, along with the Union for Reform Judaism, supported an amendment that would create a task force to help combat child poverty in Puerto Rico.

On my first day at the organization, I was put straight into action going onto Capitol Hill to advocate in various House offices. At the time, I had very limited knowledge on the Puerto Rican debt crisis and PROMESA, however it was made clear to me that urgency was critical. I was given a fact sheet with various talking points and data, but the point that struck the most for me was the child poverty rate on the island. Advocating that day and the remainder of the week, I considered, not just the ramifications of the debt crisis, but of the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

In Maimonodes’ level of tzedakah, the highest one is providing assistance and guidance for a person so they can support themselves. It seems as though we did not take action soon enough for justice in the Puerto Rican debt crisis. However, now is a moment for Congress to take action. The House has done so already, and now it’s the Senate’s turn. PROMESA is a bill that can make change in Puerto Rico. It can help to stabilize the economy and help solve the debt crisis. So I urge you to call, write and visit your senator’s office to tell them to support PROMESA, and hopefully we can control the poverty in Puerto Rico.

Sam Moller is a 2016 Machon Kaplan participant, interning at Jubilee USA Network. He is a senior at Dickinson College, where he studies political science and Spanish.