DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ House Democrats release wave of bank reform bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday will release a slate of reform bills in response to the recent bank failures that triggered the worst crisis for the sector since 2008. "The failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank make clear that it is past time for legislation aimed at strengthening the safety and soundness of our banking system and enhancing bank executive accountability," she said. President Joe Biden called for these actions shortly after the FDIC took over SVB and Signature Bank in March. The bill would have prevented SVB bank executives from cashing out after repeated warnings by regulators, according to Democrats. Neither Signature Bank nor SVB had a bank holding company before they collapsed.

Persons: Maxine Waters, Dodd, Frank, Waters, Joe Biden, Nydia Velazquez, Brad Sherman, Juan Vargas, David Scott, Al Green, Sylvia Garcia of, Emanuel Cleaver, Joyce Beatty, Steven Horsford, Rashida, Velazquez, Sherman, Cleaver, Beatty, Frank Act's, SVB, Vargas, Garcia, Tlaib, Banks, Sean Casten, Josh Gottheimer, Ritchie Torres, Wiley Nickel, Stephen Lynch, Brittany Pettersen Organizations: Financial Services, Washington , D.C, WASHINGTON —, Democrats, Financial Services Committee, Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Banking Committee, Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, FDIC, Democratic, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Republicans, Sound Banking, Prudential, prudential, Bank, Green, Sherman, Rep, Federal, Office, Federal Reserve, FAIR, Tlaib, Safety, Sherman . Locations: California, Washington ,, New York, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Green, Horsford, H.R, Silicon, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Colo

He voted against the Puerto Rico Status Act on the floor last week, calling for "letting a full and robust legislative process take place." One of the bill’s main negotiators, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, is confident about more congressional hearings on Puerto Rico's territorial status in the new year. That’s intentional, said Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican nonvoting member of Congress representing Puerto Rico who favors statehood and helped negotiate the Puerto Rico Status Act. What’s next for Puerto Rico’s territorial status? Excluding Puerto Rico’s territorial status also gives Wicker and others pause.

The House voted Thursday in favor of the Puerto Rico Status Act, which seeks to resolve the U.S. territory's status and its relationship to the United States through a binding plebiscite. The Puerto Rico Status Act also lays out terms for a November 2023 binding plebiscite including all three nonterritorial status options. Lawmakers from both sides debated the merits of the Puerto Rico Status Act on the House floor Thursday. While Democrats insisted the legislation is a significant step toward Puerto Rico's decolonization, Republicans worried over the economic implications of changing Puerto Rico's status. Venator- Santiago, who has been tracking Puerto Rico legislation in Congress for years, said this is the first time since 2010 that the House votes in favor of legislation dealing with changes to Puerto Rico’s territorial status.

☆ Puerto Rican independence bill goes to U.S. House vote on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A House committee approved the Puerto Rico Status Act on Wednesday, paving the way for the full House vote. Puerto Rico, which has about 3.3 million people and high rates of poverty, became a U.S. territory in 1898. If the bill passes the House, it will need 60 votes in the closely divided Senate and Democratic President Joe Biden's signature to become law. The legislation has the support of lawmakers of both parties and Puerto Rican officials. A new Congress with a Republican-controlled House will be sworn in on Jan. 3, at which point any legislative process would have to start over.

☆ Biden Administration Grants Waiver Allowing Diesel Shipment Into Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Paul Page | Andrew Restuccia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday approved a temporary waiver to Jones Act shipping restrictions to allow a tanker to deliver diesel fuel to Puerto Rico needed to run generators following the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona. The BP vessel, which picked up its fuel cargo in Texas, is flagged to the Marshall Islands. The law is aimed at preserving U.S. maritime operations as a national security backup to the armed forces. Critics say the law drives up shipping prices and creates a barrier to speedy services following natural disasters and other times of need. Mr. Mayorkas said he made the decision to grant the waiver in consultation with the departments of Transportation, Energy, and Defense, and with input from Puerto Rico Gov.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A ship carrying much-needed diesel fuel has been unable to dock in hard-hit southern Puerto Rico since Sunday while it awaits federal authorization because of the Jones Act, a century-old shipping law. That means that a foreign ship with goods for Puerto Rico would first have to disembark in the mainland U.S. and change crews. Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended, the Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition. On Thursday, eight members of Congress called for the federal government to grant a one-year waiver from the Jones Act for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. As of Monday morning, only 16% of power customers in Ponce had their electricity restored, according to the Puerto Rican government.

Search resuls for: "Nydia Velazquez"

6 mentions found