A House Bill To Help Puerto Rico Manage Its Debt Is Delayed... Again

WASHINGTON -- House lawmakers on Wednesday again delayed the release of legislation to help Puerto Rico restructure its $70 billion in debt. 

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, had anticipated that the third draft of the bill would be ready Wednesday. But it became clear early in the day that that wasn't going to happen.

"We are making progress, but we are not there yet," said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Bishop's ranking member on the committee. "The situation in Puerto Rico is dire, but a bill that doesn't solve the problem, or doesn't pass, won't help anyone."

The delay comes on the heels of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew's recent trip to Puerto Rico  -- an attempt on his part to put a spotlight on the debt crisis and its effects  on the 3.5 million Americans living there. 

A spokesman for Bishop downplayed the latest holdup, and wouldn't say when the committee plans to introduce the text.

"We are in a good place," said committee spokesman Parish Braden. "We’re working through some technical stuff and minor refinements that will take us through today."

Finding a happy medium -- one that wins over conservatives in the Republican ranks, while keeping Democrats signed on -- has proven tricky for negotiators working on the bill. After failing to muster the support needed for a committee vote in April, Bishop abruptly pulled the legislation and returned to the drawing board.

A second attempted markup is scheduled for next week. To keep it on the calendar, a bill would need to be introduced by Friday, a Democratic aide said.

Despite the struggle to find a way forward, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sounded optimistic Wednesday when asked about the most recent hiccup.

"We were disappointed that the bill we saw yesterday wasn't something that we could support, and so another few days of back and forth, I think, will produce something that we can take to the floor," Pelosi said. "It absolutely must happen."

Puerto Rico missed a debt payment of roughly $400 million on May 1, and barring congressional action, it is expected to default on a $2 billion payment scheduled for July 1.