48 U.S.C. § 2195 — Protection from inter-debtor transfers

Page 378 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 2195 authority for the Government of Puerto Rico to restructure debts in a fair and orderly proc- ess. (5) Additionally, an immediate—but tem- porary—stay is essential to stabilize the re- gion for the purposes of resolving this terri- torial crisis. (A) The stay advances the best interests common to all stakeholders, including but not limited to a functioning independent Oversight Board created pursuant to this chapter to determine whether to appear or intervene on behalf of the Government of Puerto Rico in any litigation that may have been commenced prior to the effectiveness or upon expiration of the stay. (B) The stay is limited in nature and nar- rowly tailored to achieve the purposes of this chapter, including to ensure all credi- tors have a fair opportunity to consensually renegotiate terms of repayment based on ac- curate financial information that is re- viewed by an independent authority or, at a minimum, receive a recovery from the Gov- ernment of Puerto Rico equal to their best possible outcome absent the provisions of this chapter. (6) Finally, the ability of the Government of Puerto Rico to obtain funds from capital mar- kets in the future will be severely diminished without congressional action to restore its fi- nancial accountability and stability. (n) Purposes The purposes of this section are to— (1) provide the Government of Puerto Rico with the resources and the tools it needs to ad- dress an immediate existing and imminent cri- sis; (2) allow the Government of Puerto Rico a limited period of time during which it can focus its resources on negotiating a voluntary resolution with its creditors instead of defend- ing numerous, costly creditor lawsuits; (3) provide an oversight mechanism to assist the Government of Puerto Rico in reforming its fiscal governance and support the imple- mentation of potential debt restructuring; (4) make available a Federal restructuring authority, if necessary, to allow for an orderly adjustment of all of the Government of Puerto Rico’s liabilities; and (5) benefit the lives of 3.5 million American citizens living in Puerto Rico by encouraging the Government of Puerto Rico to resolve its longstanding fiscal governance issues and re- turn to economic growth. (o) Voting on voluntary agreements not stayed Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, nothing in this section shall prevent the holder of a Liability Claim from voting on or consenting to a proposed modifica- tion of such Liability Claim under subchapter VI of this chapter. (Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 405, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 587.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The enactment of this chapter, referred to in text, means the enactment of Pub. L. 114–187, which was ap- proved June 30, 2016. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (m)(5), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 114–187, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 549, known as the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act and also as PROMESA, which is classified principally to this chap- ter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2101 of this title and Tables. § 2195. Protection from inter-debtor transfers (a) Protection of creditors While an Oversight Board for Puerto Rico is in existence, if any property of any territorial in- strumentality of Puerto Rico is transferred in violation of applicable law under which any creditor has a valid pledge of, security interest in, or lien on such property, or which deprives any such territorial instrumentality of property in violation of applicable law assuring the trans- fer of such property to such territorial instru- mentality for the benefit of its creditors, then the transferee shall be liable for the value of such property. (b) Enforceability A creditor may enforce rights under this sec- tion by bringing an action in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico after the expiration or lifting of the stay of sec- tion 2194 of this title, unless a stay under sub- chapter III is in effect. (Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 407, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 592.) § 2196. Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico (a) Establishment There is established within the legislative branch a Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). (b) Membership The Task Force shall be composed of eight members as follows: (1) One member of the House of Representa- tives, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in coordina- tion with the Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa- tives. (2) One member of the House of Representa- tives, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in coordina- tion with the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa- tives. (3) One member of the House of Representa- tives, who shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, in co- ordination with the ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. (4) One member of the House of Representa- tives, who shall be appointed by the Minority