House passes bill to help ease Puerto Rico’s debt

WASHINGTON— The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a rescue package for debt-stricken Puerto Rico, clearing a major hurdle in the ongoing effort to bring relief to the U.S. territory of 3.5 million Americans.

The strong bipartisan vote was 297-127 for the legislation that would create a financial control board and allow restructuring of some of Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt.

The legislation would allow the seven-member control board to oversee negotiations with creditors and the courts over reducing some debt.

A lengthy recession has forced businesses to close, driven up the unemployment rate and sparked an exodus of hundreds of thousands of people to the U.S. mainland.