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January 27-29, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

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January 27-29, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ediƟon, along with a Weekend EdiƟon to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Rosselló Signs Controversial Labor Reform Law By DANICA COTO

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INDEX Local Mainland Business InternaƟonal Viewpoint Wine Entertaiment

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NoƟcias en Español Legal NoƟces Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons

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uerto Rico’s new governor has signed a much-debated labor reform bill that targets the private sector and aims to stimulate the island’s economy amid concerns that it infringes on workers’ rights. The law approved on Thursday implements flexible scheduling, cuts the amount of a mandatory Christmas bonus, reduces vacation days and overtime pay from double time to time-anda-half, and implements a nine-month probation period for most workers. It also strikes down a previous law that authorized extra pay for those working on Sundays and allowed businesses to remain closed from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sundays. Opponents warn the law will worsen the exodus of Puerto Rico professionals to the U.S. mainland, while supporters believe it will stimulate investment and create jobs in part by lowering the cost of doing business in the U.S. territory. “In the last 10 years, we’ve lost nearly 300,000 jobs, and this has prompted Puerto Ricans to move to Florida and other places in search of jobs and quality of life,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said. “It’s time to stop this migration and the separation of families.”

The law implements some of the changes sought by a federal control board created by Congress last year that said Puerto Rico regulations tied to employee retention, severance pay, flexible scheduling and mandatory vacation days and pensions should reflect U.S. standards. The new law now allows private employees to work 10 hours a day for four days without earning overtime, and it increases unemployment benefits from a maximum of $133 to $240 a week. However, concerns remain as the island of nearly 3.5 million people struggles to emerge from a deep economic crisis and battles a 12 percent unemployment rate, compared with a U.S. average of nearly 5 percent. “People will grow more impoverished and will spend less,” Rep. Ramón Luis Cruz said in a phone interview. “This will slow down the economy instead of advance it.” He said the law also anticipates an ongoing push to privatize certain government agencies and establish more public-private partnerships. “This has been well planned,” he said. The law is the latest of several that Rosselló has signed in a bid to stimulate the economy as the federal control board pushes for an increase in the number of austerity measures.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 27-29, 2017

Governor’s Agent on Control Board Urges Rapid Approval of New Moratorium Law BY MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA [email protected]

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lías Sánchez, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s representative to the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board, said Thursday that it is crucial for lawmakers to pass the new moratorium law presented by the governor, if possible before Saturday, when the board is slated to meet and decide if it will extend the timeframe for the government to submit its fiscal plan, and if it will extend the freeze on bondholder lawsuits against Puerto Rico. The Emergency Fiscal Law was introduced Wednesday in the island Legislature. A similar law approved by former Gov. Alejandro García Padilla expires next Tuesday. The House Treasury Committee was expected to begin discussions on the legislation Thursday at 3 p.m. On Saturday the board will meet in Fajardo where they will consider the governor’s request for an additional 45 days to submit a five-year fiscal plan rather than a 10-year fiscal plan. In an radio interview with Radio Isla, Sánchez said that what is most important is for the board to see that the Rosselló administration has taken affirmative steps so that by May the government will have sufficient resources to pay essential services

without taking out loans. But he added that what would be “ideal would be that by Saturday it has been signed into law.” When asked if Rosselló’s legislation is similar to García Padilla’s, which the New Progressive Party (NPP) delegation criticized, Sánchez said

Elías Sánchez

there is big difference because Rosselló’s bill talks about paying for essential services and then paying the public debt, while the former governor’s simply said “that the debt wouldn’t be paid.” Meanwhile, Sánchez noted that delaying the public debt payment doesn’t violate the island Constitution, as was attributed to García Padilla’s legislation, because the debt payments will be made, but “once essential services payments are made.” Sánchez said that “one thing is what you want to talk about in banking operations … and another thing is the state’s reason for being, which exists before the creation of the Constitution, the police powers of the state.” He added that according to Puerto Rico’s Constitution Section 8 Article VI, “in the case that the available revenues including surplus for any fiscal year are insufficient to meet the appropriations made for that year, interest on the public debt and amortization thereof shall first be paid, and other disbursements shall thereafter be made in accordance with the order of priorities established by law.” Meanwhile, García Padilla said the Rosselló legislation vindicates his administration’s decision to let several debt payments lapse into default. “It gives me reason,” García Padilla said. “Although they voted against it, what I presented was correct, and now they are going to do what I said.”

House Opens Hearings on New Debt Payment Moratorium By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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he House of Representatives began hearings Thursday on the executive measure that contains the new version of the Moratorium Law with the purpose of extending the suspension of payments on Puerto Rico government debt. House Bill 675, introduced by La Fortaleza, will replace the Puerto Rico Emergency Moratorium Act of 2016, advanced by former Gov. Alejandro García Padilla to declare a default on the island’s public debt. This new legislation must be approved by Jan. 31, as the current Moratorium Law expires on that date. The bill will be heard by the Treasury, Budget, and Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) committees chaired by Rep. Antonio Soto Torres. The House also approved a proposal by the executive branch to counteract the economic and

fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico, which is limiting opportunities for professional development and economic development. In order to stop the mass exodus of the Puerto Rican professional class and safeguard its future and that of its families, the House approved House Bill 3, which amends the Trustees Act and the Internal Revenue Code for the purpose of providing a better and broader protection of assets and incorporating the figure of the Retirement Plan Trust. The proposal will also address issues related to statutory conflicts, protect surviving spouses and create an opening for more private employers to offer retirement plans. The legislation states that 159,794 Puerto Rico residents left the island between 2004 and 2012, which is equivalent to an average of 19,974 people per year. It also notes the aggravating factor that from 2012 to July 1, 2015 the number of inhabitants who left the island annually rose to an average of 55,114 people per year. Also, a resolution by Rep. Michael Quiñones

Irizarry was approved to investigate drinking water, water pressure and infrastructure problems of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) in the municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Lares and Utuado. As noted in the legislation by Quiñones Irizarry, the residents of Puerto Rico’s mountain region have for decades had serious problems related to drinking water systems and the service offered by PRASA. He said that due to the serious impact on the quality of life of these inhabitants, a need arises to modify the systems, establish better and efficient plants and address other problems related to drinking water in the region. The full House also approved Resolution 53, authored by Rep. Mari Carmen Mas Rodriguez ,to investigate the current status of the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in Mayagüez, given the multiple indications of deficiencies found by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Department of Animal and Plant Health Inspection, as well as the island press.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 27-29, 2017

House Women’s Caucus Files Anti-Gender Violence Measures BY MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA [email protected]

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he House of Representatives Women’s Caucus on Thursday announced a series of measures aimed at reversing the recent hike in crimes related to gender violence. Among the initiatives taken by the group of lawmakers headed by New Progressive Party (NPP) Rep. Lourdes Ramos is the creation of a task force to intervene in gender violence cases and a resolution to carry out an investigation on the procedures in obtaining protection orders under the virtue of Law 54 of 1989 (Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention Law). Ramos said the state has the obligation to intervene given the recent violent events that cost the lives of two Lourdes Ramos

women in less than 72 hours. “In Puerto Rico there can not be any tolerance for this kind of conduct,” Ramos said. “Gender violence is a social ill that we have to eradicate. We can not remain quiet before these acts that have shaken the fiber of our people. This Caucus will be proactive in the search for solutions, genuine and impactful, to tackle this crime wave that is covering the island.” “That is why we are presenting these initiatives, the first of many packages, aimed at tempering Law 54 to the current reality and providing the necessary tools to the victims so they are protected,” she added. “Our goal is for no more deaths to occur and we will achieve it.” The Women’s Caucus is composed of NPP Reps. María Milagros

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Charbonier, Yashira Lebrón Rodríguez, Maricarmen Más Rodríguez and Jacqueline Rodríguez Hernández, and Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Reps. Brenda López de Arrarás and Lydia Méndez Silva. Lebrón Rodríguez, coauthor of the bill, said the task force will be composed of specialized elements of the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), units of various municipal police departments, the Justice and Family Departments, federal agencies and the judicial branch’s Administration Office. “The main purpose of the task force will be to follow up on protection orders that are issued, and offer support to the victim and their children during the process,” Lebrón Rodríguez said. “In addition, we will locate the person against whom the protection order was issued, if he or she doesn’t appear in court once the protection order is filed. What we are doing here is protecting the victims. They have already been the victims, we can not allow them to be victimized again.”

‘Rapid Action’ Taken to Safeguard Student, Determine Who Bit Whom in Corozal School Incident BY MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA [email protected]

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ducation Secretary Julia Keleher said Thursday that the situation involving a Special Education student who was allegedly bitten by a teacher at Abraham Lincoln School in Corozal “was worked on immediately and according to the corresponding protocols.” “Our priority is and always will be the children,” Keleher said, according to an Inter News Service report. “That is why we took rapid action to safeguard the safety of the minor and proceeded to carry out the corresponding investigations and actions.” She added that “in the Education Department we are not willing to tol-

erate any act that threatens the safety or the dignity of the children.” The case has spurred much reaction on social media. Keleher was working at her office in Hato Rey on the case when she received a call from the island Senate letting her know that she had been confirmed as Education secretary. According to the report and investigation, teacher Tamalia Rivera alleged that a Special Education student bit her, so she went to the school’s director, Sara Padilla Morales, and asked her to sign the forms so that she could apply for State Insurance Fund benefits. Soon thereafter, the student’s parents spoke with Padilla Morales and said the teacher was actually the

one who had bitten the minor, upon which the school director proceeded to notify the chief of the Corozal School District, Jorge Morales. Meanwhile, Corozal District Special Education Social Worker Enid Vázquez spoke with the Family Department about the situation. At the same time, the child’s family filed a complaint with the Police, while the school district’s representative activated the School Rescue and Response Unit, whose members went to the school on Thursday to gather more information on the case. The child has been moved to another Special Education group. Both the accused teacher and the school director were summoned for a meeting at the school’s district office.

For the time being, the teacher will be transferred to work in the school district office as a precautionary measure. “At the Education Department we are committed to working tirelessly for the student’s well being,” Keleher said. “I feel more secure and stronger than ever about achieving the goal of bringing back hope and everything the system needs so that schools are places that will only bring … knowledge, joy, illusions, dreams and safety.” The assault was reported to the Police at 4:51 p.m. Wednesday, and according to preliminary information, the mother of the child said he was bitten on his left forearm by the preschool teacher, who is 36 years old.

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January 27-29, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star

First Lady Speaks Out on Violence Against Women By IRIS EDÉN SANTIAGO Special to The STAR

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omestic violence has been a burden on our community for too long, said first lady Beatriz Rosselló, “and quietly, but dramatically, it is bringing our morale down; our women feel defenseless and demoralized, and what is worse, it is going on in frightening and increasing numbers all over the island -- it has to be stopped.” In January alone, three women were killed in tragic violent crimes. To date, one of those crimes, the killing of Arelis Suárez Santiago in Juana Díaz, was labeled as the fatal consequence of an ongoing pattern of physical and emotional abuse by the victim’s partner and father of one of her two sons. The crime was witnessed by the 9-year-old, who tried to stop it to no avail. “Three women were killed and the month is not even over,” said a visibly shaken first lady earlier this week. “One woman a week. … This is not acceptable and I am not going to sit here and do nothing about it. We must talk about these crimes, we must discuss ways to deal with it and we must act now.” To address the issue at hand and share her views with the media, Rosselló met with the recently created Women’s Council, an organization she designed on the campaign trail that includes every woman in the administration cabinet, agency heads, women mayors and legislators. “Arelis [Suárez], Jackeline Rivera in San Juan and. earlier this very week, Wanda Collazo in Humacao are three women who were viciously attacked and fatally assaulted,” the first lady said. “These are three women, not three names in a statistics log. These are much more than heinous, unspeakable deaths, these deaths are signs of a decaying society that has lost its values, its sensitivity and its north.” “These crimes cannot be just fearful headlines in newspapers, these crimes speak of who we are and I believe Puerto

Ricans are not violent people roaming the streets,” she said. “I believe the vast majority of our people are kind and decent human beings who value their peace and the safety of their women and dear ones -- I believe that everyone wants to work and live in normal environments free of violence, free of troubles and free of battered women sleeping with danger.” The government has a multiplicity of aides, agencies and programs in place available to every citizen living in Puerto Rico, she explained. “We have trained professionals, health specialists, counselors and psychiatrists willing to help everyone from potential victims, abused women and family members to potential offenders,” Rosselló said. “But we can’t help you if you shut up, hide, conceal the truth or are too afraid to seek help. We need you alive and well, and to do that we need you to speak up, unwind, visit our trained personnel, call our hotline 1-800981-0023 or dial 9-1-1. “These voices at the other end of the line are not there to judge you. They are there to help you, to guide you and to make sure that you and your children are safe and out of harm’s way.” The first lady, who visited with the surviving sons and family members of Arelis Suárez on Wednesday, added that violence against women does not end with the fatal crime. What begins as emotional or physical abuse or an assault by one person on another, reverberates through the family, the neighbors and the community as a whole. “It is a painful, life-changing and horrifying experience that leaves a trace on everyone for life,” she said. “Gender violence greatly undermines the social, psychological, spiritual and emotional well being of the victim, the perpetrator and our society,” Rosselló said. “And children who witness domestic violence are bound to develop any number of emotional and behavioral problems. They are more likely to continue the pattern of violence they have grown up with, more likely to use drugs, attempt suicide, commit crimes and

what is worse, imitate their father’s conduct by becoming abusers themselves.” It is important to watch out for one another, to protect our own and our surroundings, to show solidarity amongst women and check up on one another to make sure the women in our lives are safe and well, Rosselló advised. “Because domestic violence doesn’t begin with killing the victim, it usually begins with other episodes such as sporadic beatings, threats, name calling, intimidating gestures, menacing, pushing, kidnapping and isolating the woman from her dear ones, among many other types of abuse,” she said. What we need is to stay alert, observant and careful, because there are signals when an abusive husband or man is in a household, she noted. “If we see something that is not right or a woman suddenly seems demoralized, scared or changes her routine or even the way she dresses, it is almost always a red flag and we should try to help, call the Police or consult with a professional without putting her at any additional risk.” NOTE: If you are at risk right now or know someone who is, please contact 9-1-1 or the emotional help hotline at 1-800-981-0023.

Gender Identification Discussed in Senate By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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opular Democratic Party (PDP) Sen. Eduardo Bhatia began the Senate session Thursday by questioning the insistence on repealing an Education Department policy memo that grants students the freedom to wear uniforms according to the gender they identify with. “Who regulates how a girl dresses in this country?” Bhatia asked in his first turn at the start of the session, according to local press reports. The former Senate president said legislators and members of the current administration should take a stand. “They have to make a decision, if they want to be part of the United States and the freedoms that this en-

tails, or if they want to be governed by a totalitarian religious regime like some Middle Eastern country such as Saudi Arabia where they do not let women drive for being women and force them to cover themselves with veils,” Bhatia said, adding that even in the Bible it is not stated how women and men should be dressed. “We will not tolerate the mocking of bullies, and those who want to determine how to dress, we will not tolerate it,” he added. New Progressive Party Sen Carmelo Ríos acknowledged that it is necessary to be inclusive in terms of the Education Department’s discussion regarding education with a gender perspective, but raised the discrepancy of the use of unisex bathrooms, the subject of another memo. “You have to be inclusive, but it is no less true that boys are designed to go to the boy’s restrooms and girls

are designed to go to the girls’ restrooms,” Ríos said. The NPP senator also argued that the role of the Education Department goes beyond clothing. As for the uniforms, he said, “the boys can wear pants and the girls can wear whatever they want, pants or skirt.” The issue was revived in the Senate the chamber confirmed Julia Keleher as Education secretary, despite the debate on the issue of gender perspective that took place during her public hearing. The secretary reported that she would repeal the policy memos on uniforms and bathrooms to comply with the public policy of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. However, Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz questioned her nomination when he did not receive an answer to his questions about whether or not the nominee endorsed the ordinances contained in the memos.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 27-29, 2017

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Rosselló Petitions Acting US Health Chief for Hike in Medicare Advantage Funding By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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ov. Ricardo Rosselló wrote a letter to Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Norris Cochran this week advocating for increased funding to the Medicare Advantage (MA) plans operating in Puerto Rico, which serve more than 570,000 elderly island residents, including some of the most vulnerable. The governor’s letter calls for meaningful policy adjustments to the rates paid by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to MA plans operating in Puerto Rico in anticipation of the Feb. 1 release of the annual proposed payment rate notice for MA, which will be effective in 2018. He expressed his intention to collaborate with HHS in drafting proposals “that protect and enhance funding levels in the upcoming proposed rule.”

Ricardo Rosselló Since 2011 changes in the MA payment formula that resulted from the Affordable Care Act have resulted in payment benchmark reductions of over 20 percent for MA plans in Puerto Rico. Yet during the same period the U.S. average benchmark has increased by 4 percent. Currently the MA benchmark

in Puerto Rico has fallen to 43 percent below the U.S. average, and 38 percent below the average of the lowest state, Hawaii. This disproportionate reduction in MA rates in Puerto Rico is generating grave consequences for the island’s healthcare system, which is already heavily strained by other significant disparities in treatment under federal healthcare programs, most notably under Medicaid, the governor said in a press release. Indeed, Puerto Rico currently receives only one-third of the total federal resources for health care when compared to the U.S. average of all states. Gov. Rosselló affirmed that addressing Puerto Rico’s Medicare and Medicaid disparities is critical not only to the viability of the island’s healthcare system, but also to its fiscal recovery and efforts to restore economic growth. Thus the governor has made efforts

to seek more equitable treatment for Puerto Rico under federal healthcare programs, one of the guiding priorities of his administration. Toward that end, on Jan. 16 Rosselló issued Executive Order 117-012, creating the MultiSector Working Group on Puerto Rico’s Federal Healthcare Issues. The Working Group will hold its kick-off call today and is expected to begin in-person meetings in San Juan and Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks. “Safeguarding the health care of the people of Puerto Rico is one of my top priorities and is of critical importance to the proper functioning of our economy and society,” Rosselló said. “Calling on HHS and CMS to take this opportunity to address the MA funding disparity impacting Puerto Rico is but one of the many advocacy efforts that my administration will undertake with federal officials to better meet the healthcare needs of island residents.”

González, Meets with Pence, Committee Chairs at Republican Lawmakers Retreat By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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uerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón met with Vice President Mike

Jenniffer González Colón

Pence on Thursday to discuss how to advance the island’s economic and health agendas. González said in a written statement that the meeting was held as part of a series of meetings by the Republican delegation in Congress on Thursday at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia. The “retreat,” in which all GOP representatives and senators participate, has served as a framework for the discussion of the federal tax reform agenda, health issues and attention to security issues, González said. At the meetings, the chairmen of each committee relevant to fiscal and health policy discuss the calendar with White House officials as well as the content of the federal legislative agenda for the next 100 days. The resident commissioner also

said she has an opportunity as a Republican legislator for Puerto Rico to discuss issues relevant to the island directly with the committee chairpersons who will address these issues

such as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, Sen. John Barraso, who chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and several members of these committees.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 27-29, 2017

‘Bobby’ García, Once Bronx Congressman, Dead at 84, to Be Waked at Capitol By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected]

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ormer U.S. Congressman Robert “Bobby” García, who died Wednesday at 84, will be given full governmental and military honors, and will be buried in the Spring in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, his widow Jane Lee said Thursday. García, an advocate for immigration, voting rights, Latin American affairs, and later, programs for young people, died peacefully at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in San Juan, said Lee, who was at his bedside. A native of the Bronx, New York City, he had moved to the island in 2013 due to a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Just as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy was often referred to as “the lion of the Senate,” Bobby García could be called the “leon of the House,” often roaring against injustice, inequality and intolerance,” Lee said. “But behind the roar, or perhaps because of it, he was beloved by all who knew him … gracious, kind and truly dedicated to helping people.” García was born in 1933, to Rosa and Rafael García, both natives of southern Puerto Rico. In the 1920s, they moved to New York City and settled in the Bronx, where [Bobby] García’s father and sister Aimée were to become Pentecostal ministers years later. His own renewed Christianity many years later “made him a more loving human being, with many friends and relatives saying, ‘God does not make many Bobby Garcías,’” Lee said. After a stint with the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, García attended college under the G.I. Bill before beginning his political career gathering petitions for John F. Kennedy. He spent several years with IBM, until in 1966, when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. In 1967, the people sent him to the New York State Senate, where he became deputy minority leader. Due to his interest in penal reform, García was asked by New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to serve on the Mediation Committee for the 1971 riots at Attica State Prison. In 1978, García was elected to represent the South Bronx in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served six terms until

Robert “Bobby” García 1990. He quickly became a leader on Hispanic issues, working on immigration reform, voting rights, economic opportunity and U.S. policy toward Central America. Since Puerto Rico’s resident commissioners in Congress had no vote on the House floor, he paid particular attention to his votes on issues affecting not only his district but also the island. He was chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for two terms, helping it mature into a political force both within ConBy JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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he environmental group Puerto Rico Limpio on Thursday lauded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator-designate Scott Pruitt for “showing responsibility” by committing himself during Senate confirmation hearings to cracking down on toxic landfills in Puerto Rico. In response to a question from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about landfills in Puerto Rico that do not comply with federal regulations, Pruitt said “[i]f I am confirmed for the job, I intend to make it one of my priorities.”

gress, and nationally, his widow noted. He served on the Advisory Board of the Caucus Institute (CHCI) he founded, which to date has provided more than 1,700 scholarships and even more internships to young Hispanics interested in public service. As a member of the House Banking Committee, García pushed hard for government-support programs to provide affordable housing for his constituents. He also coauthored the Kemp-García Enterprise Zone Bill with the late Congressman Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), introducing the first legislation to create zones of economic opportunity for economically depressed areas. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. His interests and involvements went beyond domestic issues, however. García was chairman of the Civilian Affairs Committee for NATO’S North Atlantic Assembly, an organization of parliamentarians. He supported Spain’s admission to NATO and successfully promoted that country’s diplomatic recognition of Israel. In face-to-face negotiations with late Cuban President Fidel Castro, García successfully negotiated the release of five Americans being held in Cuban jails. He also was part of the first U.S. Congressional Delegation to China in 1979, meeting with Chairman Deng Xiaoping. Not wishing to leave his constituents unrepresented, he chose to resign his Congressional seat in 1990 during the ongoing Wedtech affair being prosecuted by then U.S.

Attorney for New York Rudy Giuliani, which accused dozens of government officials and others of impropriety in dealing with the Bronx defense contractor. Initially found guilty with many others, García was exonerated when his convictions were overturned. García later became active in religious organizations, including the Christian Embassy under founder Bill Bright, the Christian Fellowship under Chuck Colson and the Salvation Army, where he remained an emeritus member of its national board. He received many awards recognizing his pioneering work on behalf of Hispanic and AfricanAmerican communities, most recently from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) and the New York State Assembly. He had recently completed his autobiography, dedicated to the people of his beloved Bronx, which is due for release this spring. He is also survived by his sister, Pastor Aimée García Cortese, seven children, including two from his previous marriage, Robert William García and Kenneth Ralph García, his adopted daughter, Rosalind Persinjanow, and four stepchildren: Oscar Edward Power Lee, Robert C. Power Lee, Caroline Lee Hibner and Kirsten Matos Thumecke Lee, 15 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. On Thursday, Feb. 2, García will be accorded “honras funebres” by the Puerto Rico Legislature, including lying-in-state in the island’s Capitol building, followed by a memorial service attended by government and private-sector officials and friends. Further details are pending, as is information regarding a memorial service and interment of his ashes. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Salvation Army of Puerto Rico.

PR Limpio Lauds EPA Chief-Designate for Island Landfill Remarks “I also believe in the importance of listening to the views of all stakeholders and I am willing to discuss this in greater detail,” he said. “The comments from Pruitt … are a very promising starting point that is far from the attitude adopted by the EPA of the past administration, which ignored the serious problem of illegal landfills operating in Puerto Rico,” said Hiram J. Torres Montalvo,

co-founder of Puerto Rico Limpio. “We are grateful to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for raising our concerns in the U.S. Congress. We encourage federal authorities and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate former regional administrator Judith Enck and Acting Director of the Caribbean Division Carmen Guerrero for failing to enforce federal law and respect her oath to protect disadvantaged communities in Puerto Rico.”