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In addition to urging Congress to offer Puerto Rico the new type of bankruptcy protection, the administration is also recommending that Congress broaden access to the island’s Medicaid program, a move that would pump money into its teetering health-care system. It also wants the island workers to have access to a broader array of federal tax credits, including the earned-income tax credit, in an effort to pump up its dismal 40 percent labor force participation rate. (Fletcher, 10/21)

The White House made its most forceful call for federal intervention in Puerto Rico’s debt crisis on Wednesday, outlining legislation to restructure more of the $72 billion in debt issued by the commonwealth. ... The plan further recommends an overhaul of the island’s Medicaid program and access to the earned-income tax credit, a popular tax break designed to boost workforce participation among the poor, for Puerto Rico. (Kuriloff and Timiraos, 10/21)