To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Stand with Puerto Rican Families, Not the Vultures of Wall Street
Wall Street speculators continued to lend Puerto Rico money knowing very well that it had no access to bankruptcy court. Now some of our country's wealthiest hedge funds want their debts repaid. This request should be denied! They bet against the Puerto Rican people and their families, and they should not be rewarded.
Please stand with the Puerto Rican people and take IMMEDIATE ACTION to allow for their government to restructure its debt. Any law or policy proposal should place the needs and interests of the Puerto Rican people first, and not those of greedy hedge fund managers.
Why is this important?
An amazing and beautiful community in the U.S. — Puerto Rico — is facing financial collapse, putting women, children and families at most risk. Due to the greed of Wall Street speculators who lent Puerto Rico billions of dollars knowing that it did not have access to bankruptcy court, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced out of their homes to the mainland United States while those who remain on the island are facing great hardship, including severe cuts to necessary services like health and education.
Children, 80 percent of whom already live in high-poverty areas, are especially bearing the brunt of Wall Street's greed: many foster care parents aren't getting paid therefore must surrender children; special education is pretty much non-existent; and basic health services like Zika virus prevention has been cut due to lack of funds.
The government of Puerto Rico and its people are starving while our country's wealthiest hedge fund managers expect us — the U.S. taxpayer — to pay back their loans.
Please join us and tell the White House and U.S. Congress to aid Puerto Rican families – not aid vulture hedge fund managers!