The San Juan Daily Star: In Closing Argument, Fiscal Board Stresses That POA Doesn’t Cut Public Pensions
November 23, 2021
The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico gave its closing arguments in hearings that focused on a plan of adjustment (POA) to restructure the island’s US$33 billion in debt, emphasizing that, “the latest version of the debt deal doesn’t cut government employee pension benefits to authorize new bond issuances.” Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted a motion filed by the oversight board “to change the Government Development Plan Debt Recovery Authority’s votes to reject the plan, to votes accepting it.” The Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) filed a motion over the weekend saying that the oversight board added three laws that the AAFAF wishes to preempt, a move that will “allow the board to hinder pension benefits for future retirees.” Counsel for the AAFAF, O’Melveny’s Peter Friedman, favors the plan even though the AAFAF believes pension cuts are unacceptable.
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