Puerto Rico will run out of money in February, governor-elect says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this July 29, 2015 photo, the U.S. flag flies in front of Puerto Ricos Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A Puerto Rico senator has filed a resolution that would reassign $94 million to the island's Government Development Bank so it can make a bond payment that the U.S. territory missed on Aug. 1. The non-payment prompted Oppenheimer Funds Inc. and Franklin Advisers Inc. to issue a letter addressed to Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank demanding that bondholders be paid. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Puerto Rico's governor-elect is warning that the U.S. territory will run out of money by February to pay public employees.
Ricardo Rossello said Monday that only about $147 million remains in the island's coffers. His announcement comes amid ongoing transition hearings in which Puerto Rico public agencies are presenting their current financial status and accomplishments for the past four years.
Rossello said his administration will investigate whether there was any negligence involved in the way funds were managed in the past four years. He said he will sign several administrative orders targeting the economic crisis after being sworn in on Jan. 2.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Puerto Rico is facing a decade-long economic crisis and a nearly $70 billion public debt load that Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has said is unpayable.