English subtitles for clip: File:2016-06-11 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm

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The President: Hi, everybody.

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Today, I want to talk with
you about the crisis in

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Puerto Rico -- and why it
matters to all of us.

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Puerto Ricans are American
citizens, just like folks in

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Maine or Oklahoma
or New Mexico.

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And over the last decade,
Puerto Rico has suffered

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through a deep and painful
recession -- but unlike the

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rest of the United States,
it hasn't recovered.

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Today, the island continues
to face a crippling

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economic crisis.

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Schools are closing.

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Power is being cut off
at homes and hospitals.

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Teachers have to choose
between turning on the

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lights or turning
on the computers.

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Doctors can't get medicine
to treat newborns unless

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they pay in cash.

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And as the Zika virus
threatens both the island

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and the mainland, workers
dealing with mosquito

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control to help protect
women and their unborn

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babies are at risk
of being laid off.

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Right now, Puerto Rico is
spending about a third of

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its tax revenue on debt
payments -- far more than

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anywhere else in America.

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And on July 1, the island
faces another $2 billion in

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debt payments that
it cannot pay.

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There is only one way for
Puerto Rico to pull itself

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out of this crisis -- and
that's by restructuring its

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debt and finding a
sustainable fiscal path

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toward growth and
opportunity for its people.

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But here's the problem.

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Right now, Puerto Rico
doesn't have the tools it

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needs to restructure its
debt -- tools available

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elsewhere in America.

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And only Congress can fix
the problem, and put Puerto

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Rico on a path to recovery.

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Thankfully, this week, the
House overwhelmingly passed

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a bipartisan bill to address
the crisis, and I now urge

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the Senate to move
quickly to follow suit.

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This bill won't cost
federal taxpayers a dime.

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It doesn't include
special-interest bailouts.

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And it gives Puerto Rico the
ability to restructure its

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debt, safeguard essential
services, and provide

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important protections to
public pensions that more

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than 300,000 folks rely on
to retire with dignity.

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This bill also includes
something else -- a temporary

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system of oversight to help
implement needed reforms and

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ensure transparency.

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I know that some folks in
Puerto Rico are worried

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about this kind
of oversight.

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But I've always insisted
that any solution to this

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crisis has to respect the
democratic rights of the

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people of Puerto Rico.

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And I am committed to making
sure that Puerto Ricans are

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well-represented in this
process, so that we can be

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sure we're taking steps that
are in the island's

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best interests.

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This bill is not a perfect
solution -- nobody's

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saying it is.

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That's what happens in
divided government.

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But it's the only option on
the table to save Puerto

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Rico from spiraling
out of control.

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And that's exactly what
would happen if Congress

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fails to do its job.

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There's no question this is
a trying time for folks in

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Puerto Rico.

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They've seen too many jobs
lost and too many neighbors

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leave in search of better
opportunity elsewhere.

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It's clear that it's time
for Puerto Rico to chart a

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new course and
make a fresh start.

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This bill is just
a first step.

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We all have more work to do
to make sure that the people

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of Puerto Rico receive the
health care they deserve and

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the good jobs and economic
opportunities they need to

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build a better future
for their kids.

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And I want the people of
Puerto Rico to know that my

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administration is
committed to your success.

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Because you're vital
to America's success.

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That's what this
is all about.

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We don't turn our backs
on our fellow Americans.

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We don't treat folks
differently because of where

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they live.

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Instead, we treat each
other as Americans.

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We come together,
especially when it's hard.

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That's how we've always set
ourselves on a course toward

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a brighter day.

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Thanks everybody, and
have a great weekend.