Earlier this month, the Trump Administration terminated five members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico. Congress created the Board in 2016 to facilitate the restructuring of the island’s mountain of debt and to institute desperately needed financial reforms by the Commonwealth Government.
As a former member of the FOMB who was appointed by President Trump in his first Administration, I applaud the President’s actions to rescue Puerto Rico from a Board that has presided over the disintegration of the island’s electrical grid and that has failed in its most basic duties to the people of Puerto Rico.
When Congress created the Board in 2016, it was explicit about its intent that the Board prioritize Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure. But when it comes to the FOMB’s record on energy, the facts speak for themselves. Over the past year, Puerto Rico has been plagued by frequent power outages and island-wide blackouts. Rather than address this unfolding disaster, the FOMB has kept Puerto Rico’s power utility, PREPA, mired in bankruptcy and has obstructed efforts to reach a consensual settlement with creditors.
In addition, billions of dollars authorized by President Trump in his first Administration to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid after hurricane Maria remain unspent due the FOMB’s failure to work with the local government and the Biden Administration’s insistence on green energy. Shockingly, over the course of its nearly decade-long existence, the FOMB has spent $2 billion of taxpayer money on lawyers and consultants who are financially incentivized to perpetuate PREPA’s bankruptcy.
To be clear, keeping PREPA in bankruptcy is an impediment to the modernization of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and power system, a fundamental requirement for economic growth and expansion. President Trump’s plan for U.S. energy dominance is the embodiment of the axiomatic relationship between energy and economic growth. The FOMB’s leadership failed to understand this, and now thankfully it is gone.
I’ve written previously about President Trump’s strong leadership when it comes to Puerto Rico. Following the devastation caused by hurricane Maria in 2017, the Trump Administration swung into action. The response was swift, historic and unrelenting, continuing all the way through his first term. The Biden Administration and the FOMB’s leadership wasted four years spent mainly on promoting green energy boondoggles. By firing the Board, President Trump has taken the first steps toward making Puerto Rico great again. His plan for U.S. energy dominance is fundamental to this. Here are five potential next steps I would recommend:
Click here to read full article and recommendations: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/president-trump-s-energy-dominance-plan-will-make-puerto-rico-great-again/ar-AA1Kgmgk