U.S. Treasury Secretary met with Puerto Rico interest groups

By Nick Brown and Megan Davies

SAN JUAN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Monday met with Puerto Rican and Hispanic interest groups to talk about the U.S. territory's fiscal problems and address the administration's efforts to help speed its economic recovery, the Treasury said in a statement, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

The U.S. Treasury has repeatedly said it is not bailing out indebted Puerto Rico but said last week it has been trying to find ways to help the Commonwealth return to a sustainable economic path.

"Participants were briefed on the scope of Puerto Rico’s fiscal challenges and the administration’s efforts to bring the federal government’s full capabilities to bear in providing assistance to the Commonwealth to speed its economic recovery," a Treasury spokesman said in a statement.

Puerto Rico, in recession for nearly a decade, is trying to restructure its debt, which amounts to $72 billion. It defaulted on its debt in August.

Lew and National Economic Council Director Jeffrey Zients met with a number of nonprofit organizations including the National Puerto Rican Coalition, the Hispanic Federation, and the National Council of La Raza. The meeting with the groups was held in Washington, a source familiar with the matter earlier said.

A spokeswoman for the Hispanic Federation earlier confirmed that they were meeting Lew. The NPRC said on its twitter feed earlier on Monday that it was preparing for the meeting.

Lew and Zients heard about the local impacts of the fiscal situation and potential solutions to these challenges.

The island has had an uphill battle having its concerns heard in Washington. Bills in Congress to extend U.S. bankruptcy laws to the U.S. territory and to give it improved healthcare funding have not progressed.

However, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on Thursday on Puerto Rico's economy, debt, and options for Congress moving forward, according to its website. The Treasury did not comment on whether a member of their department would attend.

The Treasury spokesman said administration officials on Monday discussed the need for congressional action to provide Puerto Rico with access to an orderly restructuring regime.

"Without federal legislation, a resolution across Puerto Rico's financial liabilities would likely be difficult, protracted, and costly," the spokesman said.

(Reporting by Nick Brown and Megan Davies; Editing by Diane Craft, Bernard Orr)

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