Puerto Rico rescue bill clears Congress days before debt cliff

Rescue legislation aimed at helping Puerto Rico address its mounting fiscal crisis cleared Congress Wednesday, two days before the U.S. territory is set to default on roughly $2 billion in debt payments. The bill passed by the Senate on a 68-to-30 vote opens a path for an orderly restructuring of the island’s $72 billion in bond debt while creating a new federally appointed fiscal oversight board. It passed the House earlier this month, and President Obama has said he will sign it. The passage of the bill — the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA — was in doubt earlier this week, and, had it failed Wednesday, the anticipated missed payments likely would have roiled credit markets and sparked creditor lawsuits.