Martin O'Malley in Puerto Rico: Island is 'being treated very unjustly by forces on the mainland'
fox news Latino
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley became the first Democratic presidential candidate to make a campaign stop in Puerto Rico this year as part of an effort to woo Latino voters.
He met Saturday with local legislators and residents to talk about their concerns as the U.S. territory tries to emerge from a nearly decade-long economic slump and struggles with $72 billion in public debt. O'Malley also was scheduled to attend a fundraiser Saturday night.
In a brief interview with The Associated Press, O'Malley said Puerto Rico should receive the same treatment as the U.S. mainland.
"Right now, the people of Puerto Rico ... are being treated very unjustly by forces on the mainland, forces on Wall Street and the intransigence of this Republican Congress in taking action to restore simple bankruptcy protections," he said.
The administration of Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has been pushing for the right for the island's public agencies to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9, but the proposal has not drawn any Republican co-sponsors in the U.S. Congress. Garcia said in recent weeks that the public debt is unpayable and needs to be restructured.
O'Malley said Garcia should not be alone in that fight.
"He doesn't have a magic wand," he said. "This should be something that our Congress, even our Republican Congress, cares about because it would do some damage and it would impact the United States if Puerto Rico were to go under, or its economy to tank, because we can't renegotiate this debt."
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2015/08/02/martin-omalley-in-puerto-rico-island-is-being-treated-very-unjustly-by-forces/
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