"People of Puerto Rico need to know they are not forgotten, that they’re part of the American family and Congress’ responsiveness to this issue, even though this is not a perfect bill, at least moves us in the right direction," Obama said before signing the bill on Thursday.
The legislation signed by Obama turns finances of the island over to an emergency board charged with restructuring its more than $70 billion debt.
While signing the bill, Obama also noted that "it is an important first step on the path of creating more stability, better services and great prosperity over the long term for the people of Puerto Rico."
Puerto Rico has been in a recession for the past decade as it continued to pile up debt, which is now estimated at about $72 billion.
Without this bill, Puerto Rico would not have the funds necessary to meet Friday’s deadline for the next debt payment of $2 billion to creditors.
