Antonio Weiss

"There is a palpable sense of fear and a justifiable expectation on the part of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico that we, collectively…will act as we have have always acted when there is a crisis that affects Americans, which is to do what's necessary to stem the crisis, to protect the people, and to allow the economy to continue on the path toward growth."

"The markets are telling us what we already know - that the debts are unsustainable."

"A special legislative act is required tailored to the territories…Puerto Rico today, because of its status as a territory…has a completely different relationship with the federal government than any city or any state, and this affects its funding, this affects the rule of law that is in place, and we say that Puerto Rico deserves the tools it needs to restructure its debt...It's emergency legislation to deal with an emergency situation."

"For the commonwealth, with its self-governing status, it is our strong belief that any oversight must…leave the self-governance in place."

"Beyond repaying the debt, there's a whole set of initiatives that is critical. The economy needs greater investment…the gross inequities of Puerto Ricans in the healthcare system need to be remedied."

"We are talking about a..financial crisis in unprecedented terms both in scale and complexity."

"We are talking about stemming the near-term crisis, but what we really need to do is put Puerto Rico back on the path towards growth."

"Puerto Rico's debt is unusually complex, with 18 different but interrelated issuers. There are an even larger number of creditor groups with conflicting interests."