We have encouraged all schools have am confident they will produce there own results as well. Ii would like to offer specific comments. The 1st has to do with Response Rates, an issue you raised and it is an important issue. Colleges wantissue. Colleges want to ensure the Response Rate for particularly with the survey of this nature. Unfortunately schools have the Legal Authority to compel students to participate. Having said that there are number of strategiesa number of strategies the schools can employ if the survey is locally administered. The school administers the survey versus the department of education administering the survey which is one of our concerns. They have control over a host of issues. Who promotes it, how is promoted baldwin, how long commanders a solid researchbased group of evidence that can bolster Response Rates. That is an area we know more about and it can be a great resource moving forward. If. If i have another minute i will stop theyre. Her answer illustrates the. I was making. Survey administered from a federal department is different than what administered on your own campus and now a campus administers it in the incentives and what it does to increase the Response Rate can be specific. The same thing can be said the same thing can be said to content as well as long as certain subject areas are covered. The 3rd thing is you can get Campus Climate through a variety of measurement mechanisms. We were talking during the break about focus groups to supplement service that give you the students a greater opportunity to discuss. We no this from politics the result is for National Policymakers to no whats happening parents to no whats happening but also campus leadership to no what is happening. Thank you. I noticed him about to run out of time. I would ask you to follow up to major additional points. If there are additional comments i appreciate it. The other question i intended to ask relates to the fact that we are looking at flat funding the office of civil rights in the department of education which is tragic in terms of how important you have articulated in your testimony adequate resources are theyre and i would love to hear from our view of what impact it will have on institutions. Thank you. Sen. , you missed my lodging in my opening statement. Statement. No that it occurred. Thank you command i appreciate that and what you have done and what you said accommodation and the work in leading us. I appreciate our witnesses have labored long time. Aa line from the scriptures about this issue. For far too long we have not been wanting to confront as aof the country. One of the most profound the trails you can imagine the •middledot actual college when you send the dollar to a college until them to study hard and they will have wonderful experiencea wonderful experience one of the best experiences of the life and then the system the trade. The school is them down with the government must come down. We all not everyone but a lot of the sharon that we have to be very not just determined that consistent in following rules and the men a lot more for schools in this case they have not been satisfied. Victims of satisfied. Victims of not been satisfied, families and communities. A long long way to go. And proud of the work that i i and others did to get the recent changes through the regulatory process and have them not just law the law being implemented by way of regulation. Theres discord about the result. Last thing i would say this has to be a priority for men never been on the sidelines too long. College students standing up parties having a sense that it might happen to my sense of what difference can do and just walking away for not doing anything. In some waysin some ways is much as the system has betrayed women on campuses a lot of guys in the trenton as well, sometimes the best friends. So when you testified we are grateful you do that. I cant even begin to imagine how difficult it is to have lived through what you have lived through and, for public audience like this. It may not be the 1st but it is of great value and benefit. We need to learn from you then this issue forward in a way thats commensurate with the spirit that you brought to it. I ask you a question. In your experiencein your experience working with survivors one of the challenges here is reporting if you could walk through why victims sometimes have the great difficulty of report. Thank you for question and for all your work on this issue. There are a host of reasons why it is challenging. The person whothe person who assaulted them is likely someone they know, friend, partner. It is difficult to take aa person you love and trust and have this happen. Many fear reporting to the police. They may be undocumented. May come from already over criminalized communities they wont do anything for them because states dont even recognize what happened. Its incredibly important that campus levels of the school open and transparent about the kinds of protection students can expect to receive. Its hard to no how that could help you continue your education. We appreciate that. That. One of the things we try to do to take that into consideration are grateful for your service from continuing service in the field of education as you do for the country and your home state. One question i have for you or what are some of the Lessons Learned as a leadera leader of a major institutions confronting this and trying to deal with the reality and the complexity of trying to make the changes that you hope to make and then you have made. One lesson take a large system such as University System at the university of california and a major issue that is cultural, health criminal and organize it in such aa fashion you can take implement. In each one evaluated as you go along as to whether you are doing with survivors the one time i wanted to with respect to what students and taught me reluctance report is the issue of confidentiality the confidential advocate truly confidential . And the need to be clear about when we have somebody we brand is the confidential independent, does that person also have reporting responsibilities . If they do, that undercuts the nature of confidentiality and ii think there is confusion in that area. Amount of time. Ior collins have to leave. Ileave. I expected to be in nashville for the funeral. That is the way this works. I came back. I think senator collins for preparing yourself and using her usual diligence to chair the hearing. She has a background. We. Were all experts we will she worked at university college. Thank you very much we have will wrap up the hearing as you go and we look forward to your advice as we continue with this issue. A issue. A good deal of concern and a surprising amount of humility in the sense that we are not sure we know that we can do and we dont want to interfere with your efforts. We will the finishing working with the groups. Do you have additional questions and comments . I like to ask unanimous consent to include in the record a statement. I will submit questions i have. Ii have. I want to thank our panelists for expert testimony. This was an extremely important topic. Every parent something about her son the college was to no were doing everything we can to make sure they are protected command you have given us great insight. I look forward to working with you as we would have reauthorize. Thank you. This has been a priority from the day we started working together, and she will continue to focus on campus safety. Were thinking about hearing coming up soon. I have three questions i like to ask the panel. The answers can come later. If you have something youd like to say i welcomesay, i welcome it. Question number one goes back to what i said earlier. The government has a way of expressing its concern and laws,laws, rules and regulations that are not as efficient as the concern is real. We sometimes duplicate and cause campuses to spend more time filling out forms and working with students to have a session in forming incoming freshmen about what the responsibilities are. But each of you be willing to give us specific suggestions about how you see title ix and its rules and regulations clearly the knew regulations allow they can be improved, where the conflict how they can be made more clear so that campuses have the flexibility you talk about. Ill call you present. Would you be willing to do that and to give it to us and has specific a form as you could. Welcome the opportunity to do that. And i no you are so large and it is such a good system that you are bound to have plenty of people waiting through rules and regulations. We dont know what this means and this duplicates this and you have been in so many different positions that you know exactly what im talking about a particularly when he that by around september in order to included in the reauthorization act. Chairman we would absolutely welcome the opportunity. If i could go a step further we should pay close attention to the department of education and make sure as the reauthorization process goes forward that they do not issue Additional Guidance without the comment which is standard rulemaking process to allow stakeholders the time to ask questions, clarify as well as provide important expertise to ultimately shape the outcome we want. That is a reasonable request. Several of us ask our distinguished groups to look at generally simplifying our education rules and regulations and making them more effective. Every one of our 6000 colleges and universities. On average every average every workday one new guidance will. I will ask the department not to do that where we are in the midst of reauthorization. The otherthe other observation to make is that only 15 percent of the colleges are private universities. We often think about those. And theres a difference between nashville and ucla in terms of what we might be thinking about doing. We need to keep that in mind one College President , and accomplished one said what i asked her what we should do about the issue, you should focus on helping campuses better coordinate with Law Enforcement agencies but do not turn colleges in july enforcement agencies. Any comment . I absolutely agree. There is a reason for campus process, and campuses have a place in the process. I do not want to see them become Law Enforcement. Students have the right to choose whether or not they want to move forward. If they do lawenforcement is theyre for that. Campuses provide an alternative, and we have actually continued to strengthen the process. I fully support not making campuses try to take the place of Law Enforcement. Law enforcement has a specific place and they will do their job is called upon. I would concur. The goal of the student disciplinary process is different than the criminal process. I think theyre can be greater linkage between campuses and Law Enforcement in appropriate cases and there are ways to do that. The last question i have is this, how do you what can we do or not do to make sure colleges established procedures dealing with Sexual Assault that our fair and protect the Due Process Rights of both the accused and the accuser. What should we keep in mind as we work on that issue . That is something that we are looking into right now. What should be the rights of the accused. It illustrates. Illustrates the difference between a student disciplinary proceeding in the criminal proceeding the confrontation rights. It should be different. Were working our way through the. It is a difficult issue. All right. Go ahead. The only. I woulds title ix already requires schools to be fair and equitable. Knowno your nine sent a letter to the University President s asking for fairness and that they follow the law. It is critically important that that is the case, and at the end of the day we are on the same page. Page. There is a way we like to pick people against each other but this is about access to education and this is clearly demanded of all parties. Thank you. I was going to make the same. And dad in the legislation through the reauthorization process we need to make sure new training requirements dont contradict what is currently and law with respect to fair and partial process. Process. Training requirements is an area we need to pay particular attention to. Sen. White house slipped in under the wire, so i will call on him and them will conclude the hearing. Thank you, chairman thank you for this hearing and thank you very much to all of the witnesses who have been wonderful. Given the late stage of the hearing what i might do is offer a few thoughts and ask each of you if you would respond to them for the record rather than extend this and run over my time. My 1st thought is that there is not good enough coordination between the query title ix process and the ordinary and proper course of the Law Enforcement investigation and that we need a way to disentangle those two processes so that they are not working at cross purposes. Too often we have heard about cases in which evidence is unnecessarily lost because Law Enforcement was not brought in a suitable time. We have heard about instances in which the universityuniversity process creates opportunities that are prejudicial to the victim in a later criminal justice process by opening have is a crossexamination and, and i think thoughts you have on how we better accommodate the Law Enforcement process in this given that the violent felony that this actually is we need to bring Law Enforcement in which brings me to my 2nd point. In my view the sooner we get lawenforcement engaged better. The counterargument is that in the past theyre have been times and circumstances with Law Enforcement iabout a lousy job of participating in these investigations but the fact that Law Enforcement has done a lousy job on occasion is not a reason to keep Law Enforcement out. It is a reason to improve lawenforcement in this area we have a model with Domestic Violence. It was not too long ago for enforcement was not helpful. Driving around until he so result as the victim what she did to provoke him. We learned a lot. The Violence Community has something to teach us about the integration of victims advisers, and Law Enforcement early in the process. The 3rd. I ask you to respond to is that the primary concern here on behalf of victims is that if Law Enforcement gets involved right off the bat there is the risk that the victim will lose control over the proceedings. At a. At a time when victims are feeling that have lost control and are feeling vulnerable, that can be a considerable threat. Victims are often poorly informed about the reality of the Law Enforcement intervention. Secretary napolitano and i were us attorneys and attorneys general together. We dont have much of the case if you dont have a cooperating victim. The likelihood of a criminal case being a vehicle for running away with an unwilling victim is very small and can probably be addressed. The concept and i will close with this the concept that i am going is that an early stage in the report of an alleged assault Law Enforcement would be involved with the Police Department would be involved. At a time before unless there was some kind of immediate Public Safety emergency theyre are times when you need to react and obviously you should not prevent that. Absent that that there could be a conversation and what for want of a better terma better term you might call lawenforcement vestibule with a Law Enforcement officer comes out into the vestibule, sits with the confidential advisor whoever is handling the query in the victim and together they walked the victim through what his or her real prospects are in the real likelihood is a being run away with by a Law Enforcement investigation gone berserk and the real risks of not reporting lawenforcement timely in terms of crossexamination vulnerability, the real risks of using electronic and biological evidence as time goes by and figure out a way to make that happen. I worry we will be in a situation in which the fears that have been justly provoked by clumsy, untrained, not informed, and experience lawenforcement interventions in these cases are becoming an obstacle for a process where we can create experienced trauma informed sensitive effective Law Enforcement intervention an early stage. I have run out my time, but i hope as a useful thoughts and useful enough to provoke a response under our questions for the record for the committee. Youre probably too busy to do this yourself, so i am delighted to receive at uf our response from whoever you dont get to handle this thank you very much. You have known me to. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to ask consent to include statements in the record. We received a number of comments on that. That. Harvard Law School Professors and others. The hearing record will remain open. Members may submit Additional Information for the record. The Committee Plans to hold the next hearing on wednesday, august 5 to discuss the status of Student Success at american colleges and universities and how to improve it. Thank you to the witnesses for coming. We appreciate it very much. I thank my colleagues in the committee will stand adjourned. May i make one final remark for the record . My attorney general at home has convened a group of folks from Domestic Violence victims organizations. Rhode island has a rich and robust higher ed community, Community Command i want to go on the record command the attorney general and the higher ed and Victims Community for the terrific local what there doing to inform what im doing. Thank you in the committee is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudibleep in our negotiations. As mr. Netanyahu says, this is a historic mistake. Host one issue i want to get to, that is an emotional performance by your colleagues representative mark meadows. A motion to remove the speaker of the house. Do you support that . Guest we will see how it goes down the road. We have talked about it since then, we will see how it plays out. This is like any family, they have internal conflicts. I think we will handle this internally, and see how it turns out. Host it sounds it is going to be made public. Guest it is. Im sure therell be a lot of talk about it. Host will you get a vote on this before you leave . What is the plan . Guest the way i understand it he has not have heard reports he hasnt. There is a lot of speculation of there. Host what are you waiting for to decide . Guest to see if it goes forward. Host do you agree with the way the speaker of the house has run things . Guest i think it could be better. So many times things are run on power or money instead of principle, we needed to run on principle and vote for the will of the american people. The people is that the sum. If you do chastise promoting your conscience, on the way to people who said you appear thats wrong. You are squelching the voice of that segment of the population. Host have you voted for the speaker in the past . Guest no i havent. Host why not then support mark meadows . Guest i probably would support it. Host what would be your hesitance to vote no . What would make you say, im not going to vote . Guest ill go with it. Host want to welcome to our table, resident commissioner of puerto rico, Pedro Pierluisi. Good morning, thank you for being here. Guest good morning, greta. Host 72 billion. Why . Guest that is the total debt that public entities in puerto rico have in the markets, in the financial markets. And it has accumulated through decades for various reasons. Part of it actually is the fact that puerto rico doesnt get the same level of federal assistance as the states do. Part of it is mismanagement, bad decisions. In defense, some of the debt has to do with offering deficits of the Central Government that were financed. And we shouldnt do that. We should live within our means. But the first thing i should say is that this is not one that not one sovereign debt. Puerto rico is an american territory. And, again, there are debts from , lets say, the puerto rican electric authority, one of the entities. Any the Central Government of puerto rico that has issued general obligation bonds. Our constitution protects those bonds. Pretty much gives them First Priority in terms of paying them. So that is themacro, the broad picture the macro, the broad picture. Host can puerto rico pay it jack of it . Guest yes. There are some authorities that are having difficulty in meeting their payment obligations. That entity has already a Forbearance Agreement with its major creditors dating back about a year. So that is an entity that definitely it needs to restructure its organizations operations, as well as its organization, to make it if it fills its obligations. Host you have introduced legislation to allow perjury go to file bankruptcy. There is this headline, though from yesterday Congress Wont grant puerto rico bankruptcy protection. Guest the first thing i should say is what im asking for in my bill, and there is a counterpart bill in the senate, is that puerto rico begin in exactly the same treatment as the states get in terms of bankruptcy. We are not talking about the Central Government of puerto rico the current bankruptcy. That is not available to the states, so it would be available to puerto rico. But it could allow it if the bill is passed if the bill is passed, that the water and Sewer Authority could reorganize themselves before the bankruptcy court, the federal bankruptcy court. That is a mechanism that is available in the states, cities, utilities have used it. So to reorganize themselves in a proper legal, safe manner. And that is what i want for puerto rico. It makes sense to have it. And i hope that when the time comes, congress will approve the bill. Host what does puerto rico not get that states get . He said the island does not have as many does not get as much federal assistance that the states get. Guest lots of areas. One that comes to mind immediately is health programs. For example, there are huge disparities in the way puerto rico is treated under the medicaid program. That is the program that is available to provide access to medical care to people citizens of the nation. In puerto rico, we get half of the funding, even less than we would get as a state. And that brings a lot of fiscal pressure to our local government. We have a Health Insurance card program in puerto rico and the federal government is basically paying less than half its cost and we are not covering people even up to 100 of poverty level. So it is a very different environment to operate in. The Medicare Program this is really amazing and puerto rico, we dont pay federal income taxes under local income, but we pay payroll taxes. I mean Social Security and medicare, yet there are huge disparities in the way the program applies in puerto rico. It is the only place where for subpart b of medicare, the part of the coverage that deals with outpatient services, we dont get it automatically. Hospitals in puerto rico do not get the same payment hospitals in the mail and get and they offer the same level of care in the mainland get and they offer the same level of care. The reimbursement rates that the entity administrating the Medicare Program pays in puerto rico are a lot lower than in the states. So that aspect, the Health Sector in puerto rico, there are other programs in which we do not get the same deal. People with disabilities in puerto rico do not are not eligible to participate in that program. Tax credits. The earned income tax credits in the states, which promotes people to go into the labor force basically incentivizes people to work, even though puerto rico has a very low Labor Participation rate, we dont get that it benefit. So i could go on and on. It is unfair. We are 3. 5 million american citizens residing in puerto rico. Why treat us differently . It is unamerican. And i have not even talked about Political Rights we dont have also. So just simply giving us you quit treatment than federal programs make us makes sense. You moved to puerto rico tomorrow and you lose all kinds of rights. And you are an american citizen. You were not born in puerto rico, not that that makes a difference, and yet you would move tomorrow there and you are not going to get the same treatment from your government the federal government. It frankly makes no sense. Host and youre right in the having to post, Huffington Post uncle guest but of course because you are talking about quality of life, you are talking about resources that the government and puerto rico would have that right now we are using our own resources to provide decent care to american citizens living in puerto rico. Why not the federal government . It is doing it us or in the nation. And that is why. I do believe that the permanent solution to the problems facing puerto rico is to treat the american citizens in puerto rico with equality. Equal rights for the american citizens in puerto rico. Host is what youre asking for statehood . You are running for governor. Guest i am running for governor and im advocating for statehood. Actually, the people of puerto rico, we held a vote and statehood got more votes than any other status option. And the people rejected the current territorial status. What is democracy . Democracy is basically the people treating their leaders, their elected officials, and the people deciding their political future. It is otherwise called selfdetermination. Well, in puerto rico, we already spoke. And i have a bill pending before congress that basically provides for an up or down vote on statehood, the same vote that hawaii and alaska had before they begin states of the union. And then the admission process in a body for your in about a four year period. We have to make sure that in puerto rico have fiscal responsibility, that we balance our budget, that we change our budgetary system so we make sure we are not overspending. And then at the same time, we want tools. Tools to do with this excessive amount of debt that some entities have piled up in puerto rico. The same way that it happens in the states. Here in the states when a city a county, or lets say a water and Sewer Authority gets into financial trouble, it reorganizes itself. The same happens in the private sector, chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Which is available in puerto rico. That is available when any Corporation Get in financial trouble. You be organize yourself. It is part of the American Capital system and it should be available in puerto rico. Host we are talking with Pedro Pierluisi, the resident commissioner of puerto rico. First elected in 2008. Lets get to calls. The fourth line is set aside for Puerto Ricans this morning 202 7480003 for. Good morning. Caller good morning. My question is, why is unemployment so high in puerto rico and why is so many people on disability and puerto rico . Guest great question. Our economy has been lagging when you compare to the economy in the states. Our income per capita is about one third of the state average. And the same employment. We have always had 4 or 5 Percentage Points or higher unemployment than in the mainland. We are lagging. This data is that we have is not performing well anymore. It doesnt work as a platform for puerto ricos economic development. When you ask the people of puerto rico, american citizens what do they prefer . Do they prefer joining the union or going our own way and then becoming a sovereign country and in a session with the u. S. . The overwhelming majority will say they would rather join the union on an equal basis with their federal fellow american citizens. So a lot has to do with the fact that the status is not working anymore. The unemployment we have, the lack of good jobs we have is happening as a territory. And we should focus on that. Host this is some statistics put together on puerto rico and it says about unemployment that the single most telling statistic in puerto rico is that only 40 of the Adult Population versus 63 in the mainland is employed or looking for work paid employers declined to hire workers because the u. S. Federal minimum wage is already high relative to the local average. And it says in a more binding constraint unemployment is that in puerto rico, local regulations pertaining to overtime, paid vacation, and dismissal are costly and more onerous than on the mainland. Guest be disability rating puerto rico might be higher, but it is basically a reality. People, when they have disabilities, they seek assistance. And they do, in the case of Puerto Ricans, who are american citizens of puerto rico, they go to the Social Security office and they file claims to get assistance. But as i said before, any Supplemental Security Income Program does also not apply, so we are disadvantage. In terms of the 40 labor participating, in the mainland the average is 63 . There are all caps of reasons for this. Again, good jobs, lack of good jobs and opportunities in puerto rico under the current status. That is the main reason. You also have the fact that you do have a lot of population under the poverty level. And that brings incredible challenges. Some of them are receiving assistance from the federal government nutritional assistance, it could be housing assistance, section a public housing. And to that extent, it could be that some of those programs do not incentivize work. I am the first when who says the solution cannot be that puerto rico then it not have the federal minimum wage. That is not the solution. In puerto rico, you what decent wages. You are people who get a job to basically make sure you want to make sure the salary they earn allows them to meet their basic necessities. Puerto rico is part of the u. S. And the fact that we get the federal minimum wage is a positive. You want our labor force to be productive, to be well motivated, and to be able to have a decent quality of life. So that is not the solution to reduce the minimum wage in puerto rico. The solution is to assist puerto rico and we can assist puerto rico, giving it better treatment and federal programs. And again, i will repeat, and treating american citizens are equally. Allowing puerto rico to be a part of the state of the union. Host because the welfare system provides generous benefits in puerto rico that often exceeds what minimum wage employment heels. Yields. Caller good morning. First of all, congratulations on your program. I would like to tell the commissioner that when he started talking, he said about the status of the welfare or the programs that Puerto Ricans dont get. I think that is the wrong view. That is a lot of the problems for domingo has. The 40 unemployment is that it is not unemployment, it is because people get more money from welfare to go than to go out there and get a job. So we have to wait for the federal government to bail us out. We dont want that. Jeb bush said yesterday that puerto rico has to solve its problems. Before talking about changing the title of the island status of the island. Host ok, we will get a response. Guest nobody is talking about a bailout. Nobody is asking for that. We simply want the same treatment as the states get. The federal programs you are referring to are federal. In the case of puerto rico, it makes no sense to reduce the minimum wage because, if anything, then that is going to give them a bigger incentive not to work because if what they are going to be getting paid, a lot less than the value of the benefits they get if they are not working and they are having difficulty, you cannot blame them. Then they wouldnt work. They would rather receive the assistance that they need to survive. So it is not right to say that we are advocating for more welfare benefits. That is not it. We are advocating for the same treatment, the equality. Puerto rico is part of the u. S. People sometimes forget appear that we are american citizens. And so we should be treated with respect. Now more than ever. Now everybody wants a all over the world, why not for the american citizens living in puerto rico . Host we will hear from allie next in california. Caller hello . Host good morning. You are on the air. Caller yes, i have just a few questions. The last 10 years, i was just wondering, how many military bases have been shut down there . That could cause a big, big problem with employment. And then, you also get a [indiscernible] and are you regulated by the same epa rules that we are here . And if not, can you get somebody to help build your industry . Then you have to be careful with the minimum wage because that will go up and then everybodys rent will also go up. If you could just ask those questions. Host all right. Guest ok, about 12, 13 years ago, a major navy base was closed and shut down in puerto rico. It was located in ceba. That base was used because in the echoes in vieques, the navy did military exercises shelter the island for decades. Shelled the island for decades. So the navy got out. We do not have any other base except for to buchanan, which is for the fort buchanan, which is where the retired military service and so on. It is not an active military base as such. But our people, the american citizens of puerto rico, join the armed forces as much if not higher than most states. And we have been defending this country consistently in all world wars in the past century. Wherever it is needed. And our veterans deserve equal treatment. They dont get it in puerto rico. They cannot vote for the commanderinchief. They do not have congressional representation. They cannot vote in both the house and the senate up here. They dont get the same benefits and puerto rico as they would get if they were living in the mainland. Epa rules, and federal law in general applies in puerto rico. Banking laws, environmental laws, and so on. We want that. We want that security. Again, we are proud Puerto Ricans, but we are also proud american citizens. Host from largo, florida, a democrat. Caller good morning. Guest good morning. Caller my question to you is, you say that you are an american. You say that you are taking all the benefits that we give you. We have given you plenty of benefits, because i am a landlord. I rent a lot of homes to Puerto Ricans be a housing authority. My biggest question to you is, why dont you become a state . Why the you take everything from the u. S. , but yet you are not a state . Therefore we should cut off everything that goes to puerto rico senor. Whenguest i like your attitude. Thats what im all about. My quest in life is to change the status of puerto rico, make it the 51st state of the union. That makes sense and that is what i am fighting for. The bill that i have before Congress Called for an up or down vote on the admission of puerto rico to statehood. The same boat to hawaii and alaska had before they joined the union. Everybody for can vote for, everybody against can vote against it, make it very democratic. Then congress of have to treat puerto rico on the same terms and conditions that they admitted other states. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for equal treatment for puerto rico. Now remember one thing. You mentioned that we have all these benefits. We dont get all these benefits. In the u. S. Lots of people do not pay federal income tax and get benefits from the federal government, the same should happen in puerto rico. Again, we are american citizens. We should be treated fairly. Host in april, republican president ial frontrunner jeb bush endorsed statehood for puerto rico. Do you know where the votes are for your legislation in the house . Have you done a with cap . With cap wip count . Guest the bill already has 110 cosponsors. It has more cosponsors the 99 of the bills before the house, and it is bipartisan support. I have 13 or 14 republican sponsors joining me even know i am a proud democrat, as they believe that this is the right thing to do. Have a vote, a democratic vote and then assuming the majority of the people want to join the union, then provide for the admission. This is a quest. It is not going to happen overnight. As i said, we held the play the site 12 and puerto rico. Plebecite. 54 of people rejected the current status. At state have got more votes than all the current status. Statehood got more votes. If people are not satisfied with the territorial status we have, one change and statehood is the answer. Host exodus from puerto rico could sway the election. Joseph in rio grande, puerto rico. Republican. Go ahead. Caller good morning. Im calling just to say that i am a proud american citizens that defended our great nation for 20 years. I am also of proud a proud Puerto Ricans. I dont understand why and puerto rico we have 78 mayors for 3. 5 million residents. Why havent political personnel made the adjustments needed to beat this crisis . Guest actually joseph, we do have 78 municipalities, but we have no counties. We should not have counties in puerto rico given that we have so many municipalities. What we have to do at the municipality level, the city level, is to make sure that small cities use resources from bigger cities. That we do not have as much bureaucracy and each and every one of those musicality. That is something that we need to be looked to do looking forward. But the Central Government and the municipal government of puerto rico is too large for the size of our economy. We need to grow our economy grow our private sector, and make sure that our government does not grow. We have to use technology and make sure that we do not have as much bureaucracy as we have right now. But the answer would be to streamline the government of a lot of those municipalities you are referring to. It would not be, though, to start creating counties or other government structures and puerto rico. That would be even more expensive and bureaucratic. Host lets get a has a, also also for jose, also from puerto rico. A republican. Caller thank you for your service. My question is, i have been hearing that the people of puerto rico have a lot of dependent on welfare or government assistance. But what it is is that we have a moral responsibility with our elderly people and our kids. Im a service man, my folks, a servicemember from vietnam, i served in kuwait. We have a passion for our nation. We serve with pride. We have sometimes seen that we got treated like secondclass citizens. Not only that, i have been told sometimes that im from another country. I tell them about my military service and they say, are you a mercenary . If i go put my life on the line it is because i love this country. I love the liberty and justice for all. Not only i, all people do that. We are noble in the sense that we go we have deep roots of morality. I think that we have, over hundred 20 years 120 years, the flag of the united states. We want statehood. We can do it with the tourists. The Tourism Industry is something that we have two due to level the field. Host jose, i am going to have our guest respond. But how are you watching us this morning . Caller my tv, yes. Guest we are proud Puerto Ricans. Proud american citizens. You can call us puerto rican americans. Nine out of 10 puerto rican americans are very proud of their american citizenship, and they dont want anybody to mess with it. At the same time, we have issues like the aging of the population. The same thing is happening and a lot of other places. We are losing population. You mentioned it greta, before. Why are we losing population . Is when you are an american citizen living in puerto rico and you cannot find a good job or you do not get the level of health care that you want, or you are not being treated fairly by your government, you can quickly hop on a plane and moved to the states. Go to florida. Go to texas. Go to connecticut. Anywhere in the states. All of a sudden overnight you get rights and opportunities we dont have in puerto rico. Thats why i say this makes the sense. Jose mentioned that some people here sometimes confuse port puerto rico with costa rica our other countries and think we are a foreign country. It is an ongoing education process. Puerto rico is part of the u. S. We are american citizens. You cannot ignore us. We are part of this country, and when puerto rico prospers america prospers. When frost when puerto rico does well, america does well. We are in the midst of the caribbean were lots of things are happening. We should be a bridge between the u. S. And latin america central america. More so than we currently are. Lets have a common vision that make sure that we put puerto rico on the path to equality. On the past real progress. Host Pedro Pierluisi representing the territory of puerto rico. No other member of congress represent that many people. Mary, an independent. Caller hi. I was just going to make a comment that right now you dont pay federal income tax, and as you point out you do receive benefits such as Social Security disability, food stamps, housing supplements medical assistance on some levels, for which you are putting in nothing. First of all, if you cant make it when youre not paying any federal income tax, how do you think youre going to be able to balance your budget when you start paying tax jacket . Second, we dont want to take on your debt if we cant pay our own. Third, you actually have a unique situation where your bonds become more valuable in other states. No other state can do that. Everyone elses triple tax in their own state. Good question. Guest good question. You have a lot of people in the mainland getting federal government federal support and not pay any income tax. We do get Social Security. But we dont get the same deal as citizens in the state. With respect to exceptions for our bonds, that is an exception puerto rico was given. Thats a question. It was given out of the same federal tax rate and we got because we are not getting the same assistance in federal programs we would get as a state. That is why we need to change the model. Change the platform. It is not working anymore. Host dennis in windermere, florida. A republican. Caller hi. Im an American Veterans. Congressman, i have listened to a lot of your speeches on the house floor. Also i have listened and also seen all of your writing. Sir, i think you are a patriot. We American Veterans salute you. This is also a case of equality for puerto rico. It is a problem, and action must be taken. But also, the federal government must do its part. I was also with governor jeb bush on monday. I served on his Transition Team for American Veterans. His position of puerto rico for 35 years, has been for statehood. He also wants the fiscal problems to be taken care of. One it does not take from the other. We can do both, because for a hundred 17 years puerto rico 117 years puerto rico has been oppressed. It is time that we have equal treatment. My question for you sir, with a lot of respect and a lot of admiration, what can you see the federal government doing for the debt restructuring . What is it is the duty of the federal government. What steps you think they can take. Also supporting statehood, yes or no, for puerto rico . Guest you are a true patriot, and i am proud of you. I know you are currently residing in florida but you are a true puerto rican. I know you are fighting for equality, and that is the solution. The democratic thing to do the right thing to do economically and financially for puerto rico insofar as the immediate crisis is concerned. Congress could give puerto rico a tool that is not available in puerto rico, and that is chapter nine of the bankruptcy code. It allows companies to reorganize themselves under the protection of the bankruptcy court, so that they can meet their payment obligations. It allows them to restructure in an organized and legal way. That is why i am fighting for that in congress. But the permanent solution would be to allow puerto rico to join the union. Pay federal taxes. But at the same time, get the same benefits from the federal government. Then puerto rico would prosper with that kind of profit status. There would be a transition, but we would have no Political Risk and we would drive the sick thrive the same way to states have thrive in the union. Host one last call from atlantic city, democrat. Caller hello. First of all id like to pay homage and respect to the 65th infantry reserve. They actually volunteered for world war i. These people are not mandatory to fight our wars. They fight in our cause. We have the same cause. That is number one. Number two, mr. Pedro i believe you are not going to be a little pay this debt. I believe your banks will collapse, and i believe puerto rico will become a science experiment. Are you prepared for this . Guest i did on but do not agree with this assessment. I believe puerto rico has a bright future. On an immediate basis we are facing a fiscal crisis, and we have a lot of debt. It basically amounts to the level of our economy. That is high. But we can manage. We can make sure that we keep innovation for development, that our authorities are reorganized but we do not keep breathing rates would to be terrible for economic development. At the same time we can streamline our government and make sure that we live within our means. Puerto rico as i said, has a lot of potential. Many doctors from puerto rico are wellknown. That is the biggest resource our stem professionals. Our beauty, our location. Our culture. We can do much better than we have. We just need the u. S. Government is to treat a fairly. Allow us to prosper. It was equality and we will host on the debt issue governors schumer senator schumer and blumenthal are warning that if puerto rico is not allowed to restructure its debt it could trigger a humanitarian crisis. What sort a few military crisis . Guest it would be chaotic if you do not have the legal structure to adjust your debt when need be. They are referring to mass migration, more than we have. In the past, we have lost a 250,000 people in just five or six years. If it continues at this level puerto rico will be seriously downsized, even more so. It is going to be very hard to make it viable. We want american citizens who resided puerto rico to stay there. They would rather live in puerto rico than anywhere in the states. But because the economy is lagging, its not working. The system is not working. That is why we need to change it. That is what they are referring to. I hope the chapter nine deal i introduced in the house, etc. Blumenthal and schumer introduced in the senate will get its day in congress and it will become law. It will deftly help puerto rico. Host Pedro Pierluisi, thank you very much