‘Hamilton’ creator offers Ryan a deal: Personal performance for Puerto Rico bill

The creator of the hit musical “Hamilton” is pitching a personalized performance for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in exchange for a Puerto Rico relief bill.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the musical, urged Congress Sunday to pass a bill helping Puerto Rico deal with its massive debt burden. Performing a new song on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” he made a direct plea to Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

{mosads}“Paul Ryan, I’ll come sing ‘Hamilton’ at your house,” he rapped. “I’ll do-si-do with Pelosi. I’ll wear my Hamilton blouse.”

Miranda is the son of Puerto Rican immigrants and has been vocal in pushing Congress to pass legislation that would help the island get out from under its $70 billion debt burden.

Both Ryan and Pelosi are working on legislation, but so far lawmakers have been unable to move on a bill. The House Natural Resources Committee was poised to consider a bill earlier this month, but the markup was cancelled by GOP leaders at the last minute amid continued opposition from conservatives.

The primary backers of the bill, Ryan included, insist that Congress will eventually take something up. But there is no time frame for action, as Puerto Rico prepares to miss a May 1 debt payment. The legislation would establish an outside review board for the island’s finances in exchange for allowing it to restructure some of its debt through the courts.

One of the biggest challenges for lawmakers is convincing skeptical members the bill does not constitute a “bailout” of the island. The Center for Individual Freedom, a dark-money group that does not have to disclose its donors, launched an ad campaign blasting the legislation as a bailout, even though no federal dollars are sent to the island under the bill.

Congressional leaders, particularly Republicans, have had to tamp down the “bailout” rhetoric to help line up support. Miranda echoed that message in his performance.

“It’s nonpartisan. The hard part is in convincing Congress that Puerto Rico matters,” he rapped. “So their heart is in the fight for relief, not a bailout, just relief. A belief you can pass legislation to ease our grief.”

Miranda gained a certain Washington cachet after his musical about the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton became a national sensation, counting among its fans President Obama.

His performance came at the end of a lengthy “This Week Tonight” piece on Puerto Rico’s plight. Host John Oliver discussed how decades of legislative quirks led Puerto Rico to its current state, in which it has the most debt of any state or territory in the country by far but lacks the legal option of pursuing bankruptcy to rework its obligations.