SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Rob Bishop said he supports statehood for Puerto Rico during a visit to the island Friday.
"I want to be very clear: I'm in favor of Puerto Rico statehood. If people are willing to sit down, put partisanship aside, and do what is best for the people of Puerto Rico, we will have success," the Utah Republican said at a press conference with Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting member of Congress.
Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said he supports Puerto Rico’s efforts to introduce bipartisan legislation in Congress to grant full statehood to the U.S. territory.
Puerto Rico is still recovering from devastating hurricanes last fall that killed dozens of people, knocked out power for months and worsened the island's economic trouble. It declared the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history a year ago, saying it could not pay $120 billion in debt and pension obligations.
Bishop’s committee has overseen the process of addressing Puerto Rico’s financial insolvency long before the hurricanes.
In 2016, the panel created a federally appointed financial oversight and management board with the authority to negotiate the restructuring of the island’s debt.