Speaker: Puerto Rico relief bill ready ‘in the coming days’

On Friday evening, House Speaker Paul Ryan said legislation to restructure Puerto Rico’s ailing finances will be introduced in the coming days.

“Right now, we are working with the Natural Resources committee, the administration, and our Democratic counterparts to iron out the final constitutional and legal questions surrounding the legislation,” Ryan said in the statement. “Let me be clear: There will be no taxpayer bailout of Puerto Rico.”

The measure seemingly hit another snag this week when House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) delayed the introduction of an expected reworked measure to deal with some technical issues.

Earlier Friday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the House’s delay shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a lack of progress.

Lew said that while time is of the essence, with a looming $2 billion debt payment due on July 1, Treasury and Congress are making progress toward a long-term solution to the island’s fiscal woes.

“The substance is more important than the schedule, as long as it gets done for Puerto Rico,” Lew told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington.

“So I wouldn’t confuse delaying a day with a lack of progress; sometimes a delay can be a sign of progress if you’re getting close to something,” he added.