The Honorable Paul Ryan                    
Speaker of the House                          
H-232, The Capitol                                                            
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Leader                                                          
H-204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515  

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                                            
Senate Majority Leader                                                        
317 Russell Senate Office Building                                        
Washington, DC 20510                                                        

The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510  

Dear Mr. Speaker, Leader Pelosi, Leader McConnell, and Leader Reid:

The undersigned government, community, faith and labor leaders write to express deep concern over the  severe economic and fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico, a U.S. jurisdiction that is home to 3.5 million  American citizens. It is abundantly clear that the Commonwealth's unsustainable debt, depleted cash  flow and overall deteriorating economic situation requires Federal reforms and investments. We call  on the Federal Government to act immediately as a potential government shutdown and default is  likely to occur in the coming weeks.  

This year alone, there have been four committee hearings—two in the House, two in the Senate—on  Puerto Rico.  It is clear to any reasonable observer that congressional action is both necessary  and justified and requires a focus on liquidity to allow the Puerto Rican government to keep  functioning and provide basic services to its citizenry, a legal vehicle to restructure its debt  obligations, and a plan for fiscal recovery that addresses the imminent health care crisis and  creates new stimulus for economic growth.  

If the federal government does not provide Puerto Rico with these tools, the situation on the  island will descend into a full-blown humanitarian crisis.  Vital public services will be  compromised, payments to pension and bond holders will be missed, and the already- unprecedented  number of Puerto Rico residents relocating to the U.S. mainland will turn into a mass exodus.  

In October, the Obama Administration—led by the U.S. Treasury Department, the National Economic  Council and the Department of Health and Human Services—submitted to Congress a legislative  proposal to begin to address the situation in Puerto Rico. It consists of four pillars: more  equitable treatment under refundable federal tax credit programs like the earned income tax credit  program and the child tax credit program; more equitable treatment under federal health programs  like Medicaid; a federally-authorized process to enable Puerto Rico to restructure bonded debt in a  fair and orderly manner; and a degree of federal oversight to help the government of Puerto Rico  manage its finances in a more effective and transparent way.

We believe the Administration's proposed plan provides a reasonable framework for bipartisan,  bicameral legislative action. Clearly there are other obstacles to address and economic development  measures to consider to ensure Puerto Rico achieves long-term sustainability, but Congressional  movement on the Administration's proposed plan will go a long way toward stabilizing this dire  situation.  

We urge Congress to enact a package of meaningful legislative provisions, either in the form of a  standalone bill or as part of a larger vehicle, such as legislation making appropriations for the  remainder of Fiscal Year 2016. It is our fervent hope that Congress will act with a sense of  urgency that is commensurate with the urgent nature of the problem in Puerto Rico. Your leadership  is essential to accomplishing this objective.  

Sincerely,