View source for Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico

{{short description|US government entity overseeing Puerto Rico's government budget}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = '''Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico'''
| nativename      = Junta de Supervisión Fiscal
| logo            = File:FOMBPR logo.jpeg
| logo_width      = 140px
| logo_caption    =
| image           =PromesaJSF.image.jpg
| seal            =
| seal_width      = 140px
| seal_caption    =
| agency_type     = Financial regulatory authorities
| image_caption   = Current composition of the Financial Oversight and Management Board as of January 2024. In blue, Democratic members of the board. In red, Republicans.
| formed          = {{start date and age|2016|6|30}}
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States]]
| headquarters    =
| employees       =
| budget          =
| chief1_name     = [[David A. Skeel Jr.]]
| chief1_position = Chairman of the FOMBPR
| parent_agency   = [[United States Congress]]
| website         = {{URL|https://oversightboard.pr.gov/}}
| footnotes       =
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}}
'''Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico''' (FOMBPR), colloquially known as ''La Junta de Control/Supervisión Fiscal'' is a government entity whose role to revise and approve the budget and obligations of the government of [[Puerto Rico]] was created by federal law [[PROMESA]].
==History==
===Creation===
On August 31, 2016, [[Barack Obama]] appointed the seven members of the board.<ref name="washpo1">{{cite news|title=White House names seven to Puerto Rico oversight board|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/white-house-names-seven-to-puerto-rico-oversight-board/2016/08/31/9cee9376-6f8b-11e6-9705-23e51a2f424d_story.html|access-date=2016-09-24|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name="reuters1">{{cite news|date=2016-08-31|title=Puerto Rico oversight board appointed|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-board-idUSKCN11628X|access-date=24 September 2016}}</ref>
In March 2017, [[Natalie Jaresko]], former Minister of Finance in Ukraine, was appointed as the board's executive director.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://caribbeanbusiness.com/oversight-board-appoints-natalie-jaresko-as-executive-director/|title=Fiscal board chairman: Extent of Puerto Rico crisis justifies new executive director's salary – Caribbean Business|website=caribbeanbusiness.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-03|date=2017-03-23}}</ref>  Her chairmanship was accompanied by multiple protests against the FOMBPR in Puerto Rico, the largest being a protest of 100,000 people in San Juan in the summer of 2019, before announcing her resignation in February 2022 effective on 1 April 2022.<ref name="Am">{{Cite news|last1=Noack |first1=David X. |url=https://amerika21.de/2022/04/257402/jaresko-puerto-rico |title=Amtszeit der Generaldirektorin der "Junta" von Puerto Rico beendet |work=amerika21 |language=German |publisher=Mondial21 e. V. |date=2 April 2022 |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="BB">{{cite web|url=https://www.bondbuyer.com/news/puerto-rico-oversight-boards-natalie-jaresko-resigns |title=Puerto Rico Oversight Board's Jaresko resigns |date=February 3, 2022 |website=The Bond Buyer |access-date=February 7, 2022}}</ref> In 2019, [[Christian Sobrino]], PROMESA's Representative of the Puerto Rican government, resigned in the wake of the [[Telegramgate]] scandal effective immediately on July 13, 2019.<ref>[https://www.theweeklyjournal.com/online_features/rossell-makes-two-appointments/article_7e353992-aa7c-11e9-b4f7-5b2022d34360.html Rosselló Makes Two Appointments]</ref> Robert Mujica became the Oversight Board's executive director on January 1, 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://oversightboard.pr.gov/robert-f-mujica-jr/ | title=Robert F. Mujica Jr }}</ref>
===''FOMBPR v. Aurelius Investment, LLC''===
{{main|Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC}}
{{expand section|date=October 2020}}
==Composition of the FOMBPR==
===Current members===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+{{legend2|#B0CEFF|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]|border=1px solid #aaa}}{{spaces|2}}{{legend2|#FFB6B6|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]|border=1px solid #aaa}}
!Name
!Began Servic
!Party
|-
|Andrew G. Biggs
|August 31, 2016
|Republican
|-
|[[Betty A. Rosa]]
|December 8, 2020
|Democratic
|-
|[[John E. Nixon]]
|December 8, 2020
|Republican
|-
|[[Arthur Gonzalez]]
|August 31, 2016
|Democratic
|-
|[[David Skeel]]
|August 31, 2016
|Democratic
|-
|[https://oversightboard.pr.gov/juan-a-sabater/ Juan A. Sabater]
|January 18, 2024
|Democratic
|-
|[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/26/president-biden-announces-key-appointments-to-boards-and-commissions-38/ Luis Ubiñas]
|June 26, 2024
|Democratic
|}
===Former members===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="text-align: left" | Name<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://oversightboard.pr.gov/about-us/|access-date=2024-01-16|website=Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico}}</ref>
! style="text-align: left" data-sort-type="date" | Began service
! style="text-align: left" data-sort-type="date" | Service ended
! style="text-align: left" | Party
|- {{party shading/Republican}}
| data-sort-value="Carrion, Jose" |José Carrión III (Former Chairman)
| August 31, 2016
| October 5, 2020
| Republican
|- {{party shading/Republican}}
| data-sort-value="Garcia, Carlos" |[[Carlos M. García|Carlos García]]
| August 31, 2016
| August 31, 2020
| Republican
|- {{party shading/Democratic}}
| data-sort-value="Gonzalez, Jose" |[[José Ramón González|José González]]
| August 31, 2016
| August 31, 2020<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-04|title=José R. González deja la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal|trans-title=José R. González leaves the fiscal control board|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/jose-r-gonzalez-deja-la-junta-de-supervision-fiscal/|access-date=2021-06-30|website=[[El Nuevo Día]]|language=es}}</ref>
| Democratic
|- {{party shading/Democratic}}
| data-sort-value="Matosantos, Ana"|Ana Matosantos
| August 31, 2016
| August 31, 2020
| Democratic
|- {{party shading/Democratic}}
| data-sort-value="Peterson, Justin"|Justin Peterson
| August 31, 2016
| August 31, 2020
| Democratic
|- {{party shading/Democratic}}
| data-sort-value="Medina, Antonio"|Antonio L. Medina
| August 31, 2016
| August 31, 2020
| Democratic
|}
===Officers===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! Name
! Position
|-
| [[David Skeel]]
| Chairman
|-
| Robert Mujica
| Executive Director
|-
| Jaime El Koury
| Legal Counsel
|-
| [[José R. Pérez-Riera]]
| Revitalization Coordinator
|-
| [[Omar Marrero]]
| Representative of the government of Puerto Rico
|}
==Authority==
Appointed by the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]] and the [[President of the United States]], La Junta has authority over the commonwealth's budget, with a mandate to maneuver the liquidity crisis that the island's government faces amidst a shrinking economy and a debt crisis.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Mendoza-de Jesus|first=Ronald|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1143649021|title=Free-dom: United States of Banana and the Limits of Sovereignty (Poets, philosophers, lovers: on the Writings of Giannina Braschi)|publisher=U Pittsburgh|others=Aldama, Frederick Luis, O'Dwyer, Tess|year=2020|isbn=978-0-8229-4618-2|location=Pittsburgh, Pa.|pages=136–139|oclc=1143649021}}</ref> The board has the authority over "the prompt enforcement of any applicable laws of the covered territory prohibiting public sector employees from participating in a strike or lockout" (PROMESA, 559).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cabán|first=Pedro|date=2020-03-03|title=Puerto Rico's Summer 2019 Uprising and the Crisis of Colonialism|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0094582x20906509|journal=Latin American Perspectives|volume=47|issue=3|pages=103–116|doi=10.1177/0094582x20906509|s2cid=216276037|issn=0094-582X}}</ref> La Junta also has the power to fast-track approval of infrastructure projects and public-private partnerships. The law also gives total immunity to the board members in the face of any potential lawsuits.<ref name=":0" />
==Opposition==
Puerto Rican business leaders, scholars, teachers, performing artists, and activists have led protests against La Junta.<ref name="vice.com">{{cite web|title=Puerto Ricans Aren't Done Protesting. "La Junta" Is Why.|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/9kxxxy/puerto-ricans-arent-done-protesting-la-junta-is-why|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.vice.com|date=25 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In July 2019, hundreds of thousands of people rallied in the streets of San Juan to chants for Governor [[Ricardo Rosselló]] to "resign and take the "junta" with you."<ref name="vice.com"/> Many argue that The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico amounts to the return of colonial rule over Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fonseca|first=Melody|date=2019-03-17|title=Beyond Colonial Entrapment: The Challenges of Puerto Rican "National Consciousness" in Times of Promesa|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369801x.2019.1585917|journal=Interventions|volume=21|issue=5|pages=747–765|doi=10.1080/1369801x.2019.1585917|s2cid=150703945|issn=1369-801X}}</ref> Among them, Dr. Ronald Mendoza-de Jesus wrote, "Many, myself included, feel that the time has come to finally dispel the fantasy of Puerto Rico's sovereignty under US rule and to take up again the question of the economic and ontological implications of striving to become a sovereign nation."<ref name=":0" /> Puerto Rican filmmaker [[Frances Negrón-Muntaner|Francis Negrón-Muntaner]] argues in "The Emptying Island," that PROMESA "marks a transition to a new iteration of colonial-capitalism".<ref>{{cite book|last=Riofrio|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1143649021|title="Rompiendo esquemas" (Poets, philosophers, lovers: on the writings of Giannina Braschi)|publisher=U Pittsburgh|others=Aldama, Frederick Luis, O'Dwyer, Tess|year=2020|isbn=978-0-8229-4618-2|location=Pittsburgh, Pa.|pages=30|oclc=1143649021|quote="PROMESA marks a transition to a new iteration of colonial-capitalism."}}</ref> [[Frances Negrón-Muntaner|Negrón-Muntaner]] notes that the Board is "composed of individuals with deep ties to the banking and investment world—including some involved in producing the debt crisis—and granted them broad powers over Puerto Rico's elected government to assure that creditors will be paid."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Emptying Island: Puerto Rican Expulsion in Post-Maria Time|url=https://hemisphericinstitute.org/en/emisferica-14-1-expulsion/14-1-essays/the-emptying-island-puerto-rican-expulsion-in-post-maria-time.html|access-date=2020-11-09|website=hemisphericinstitute.org}}</ref> In 2019, thirteen members of the United States Congress included [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] and [[Bernie Sanders]] signed a letter that demanded that the Puerto Rico fiscal oversight board, known as "la junta," disclose its conflicts of interest.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Aronoff|first1=Kate|last2=Brown|first2=Alleen|date=September 24, 2019|title=Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez Call for Reversal of Puerto Rico Austerity Measures|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/09/24/puerto-rico-austerity-congress/|access-date=2020-11-09|website=The Intercept|language=en}}</ref>
In May 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled against a Puerto Rican media organization in its quest to obtain documents from the Federal Council to oversee the island's financial restructuring. The judges said that Congress has not been clear enough about lifting the Board of Financial Supervision and Management's sovereign immunity, which would allow Centro de Periodismo Investigativo Inc. to subpoena the board over documents related to the restructuring of the economy of Puerto Rico.[https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/media-group-cant-sue-puerto-rican-bankruptcy-board-justices-say].
== Net Metering Controversy ==
In the spring of 2024, FOMB sent two letters to the Governor of Puerto Rico and the legislature threatening to overturn a solar net energy metering law, known as Act 10.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FOMB - Letter - AAFAF - Act 10-2024 204(a) - April 10, 2024.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/10uP52UPSx9wCBYDlX90FQXeRZBkeQi6P/view?usp=embed_facebook |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Google Docs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FOMB - Letter - Governor & Legislature - Act 10-2024 Follow-Up - May 2, 2024.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U9g05riw73D0V67RAAgg0moQGdGfMBbU/view?usp=embed_facebook |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Google Docs}}</ref> Act 10 was unanimously passed by the legislature in 2023, and signed into law by Governor Pierluisi in January 2024, and it extended net energy metering for new home solar and storage customers until 2031.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Angueira |first=Gabriela Aoun |date=2024-02-06 |title=As states slash rooftop solar incentives, Puerto Rico extends them |url=https://grist.org/energy/as-states-slash-rooftop-solar-incentives-puerto-rico-extends-them/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Grist |language=en-us}}</ref> In their letters, FOMB threatened to nullify Act 10, which would undermine Puerto Rican law, slow down Puerto Rico's efforts to install clean energy, and threaten end a rapidly growing rooftop solar and storage industry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-20 |title=Puerto Rico's rooftop solar boom is at risk, advocates warn |url=https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/puerto-ricos-rooftop-solar-boom-is-at-risk-advocates-warn |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Canary Media |language=en}}</ref>
Backlash to FOMB's efforts to undermine the will of the people was swift, and 21 Members of Congress, including Resident Commissioner [[Jenniffer González-Colón|Jennifer González-Colón]], wrote a letter to FOMB demanding that they protect net energy metering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grijalva, González-Colón Lead Bicameral Letter to Puerto Rico Oversight Board Urging Protection of Solar Net Metering {{!}} The House Committee on Natural Resources |url=https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/grijalva-gonzalez-colon-lead-bicameral-letter-to-puerto-rico-oversight-board-urging-protection-of-solar-net-metering |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=democrats-naturalresources.house.gov |language=en}}</ref>  [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], [[Bernie Sanders]], and [[Nydia Velázquez]] all signed the letter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grijalva, González-Colón Lead Bicameral Letter to Puerto Rico Oversight Board Urging Protection of Solar Net Metering {{!}} The House Committee on Natural Resources |url=https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/grijalva-gonzalez-colon-lead-bicameral-letter-to-puerto-rico-oversight-board-urging-protection-of-solar-net-metering |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=democrats-naturalresources.house.gov |language=en}}</ref> In addition to Members of Congress, fifteen non-governmental organizations including [[Natural Resources Defense Council|NRDC]], [[GRID Alternatives]], Community Foundation of Puerto Rico, [[Environment America]], and the [[League of Conservation Voters]] all wrote a letter to [[Joe Biden|President Biden]] asking that he appoint new commissioners to FOMB's board who would protect rooftop solar and storage for the people of Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secure cloud storage that protects your privacy |url=https://ln5.sync.com/dl/5700ce5f0/h8gk83am-fgzzkuhp-wp5xjaa2-22zqu6hu/view/doc/21013804450006 |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Sync |language=en}}</ref>
In July 2024, [[Jennifer Granholm|US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm]] traveled to Puerto Rico and stated the following to [[El Nuevo Día|''El Nuevo Dia'']], "We support net metering... It’s a tool that has allowed for remarkable progress that has not yet been fully materialized, but we are hopeful for its continuity."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-19 |title="Nosotros apoyamos la medición neta": Jennifer Granholm advierte sobre los efectos de alterar incentivos a los prosumidores |url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/nosotros-apoyamos-la-medicion-neta-jennifer-granholm-advierte-sobre-efectos-de-alterar-incentivos-a-prosumidores/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=El Nuevo Día |language=es}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Puerto Rican government-debt crisis]]
* [[Territories of the United States]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Bond market}}
{{Debt}}
[[Category:Economy of Puerto Rico]]
[[Category:2016 establishments in Puerto Rico]]
[[Category:Government bonds]]
[[Category:Local government finance]]
[[Category:History of Puerto Rico by topic]]
[[Category:Presidency of Barack Obama]]
[[Category:United States federal boards, commissions, and committees]]