Two More Democratic Senators Join Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Push

NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - Another two Democratic senators have agreed to co-sponsor a bill that would allow Puerto Rico's municipalities to use Federal bankruptcy laws, the U.S. territory's representative in Congress Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy and Mark Warner, who sits on the Senate's banking committee as well as the finance committee, will join 12 other Democratic senators currently sponsoring the bill.

The addition of two extra senators shows support for the bill is increasing, at least among Democrats , although they will have to win over skeptical Republicans who control Congress if the bill is to pass.

The bill (S. 1774) was introduced last week to give Puerto Rico's municipalities and public corporations access to Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code to adjust their debts. It is a companion bill to an identical bill (H.R. 870) that Pierluisi introduced in the House earlier this year.

(Reporting by Megan Davies and Edward Krudy; Editing by Andrew Hay)