Marine Diver. The San Juan Daily Star. February 12-14, Self-winding movement. Water-resistant to 300m.

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1 2 February 12-14, 2016 Marine Diver Self-winding movement. Water-resistant to 300m. 18 ct rose gold case. Also available in stainless steel. U LY S S E - N A R D I N. C O M

2 GOOD MORNING, the only paper with 3 February 12-14, 2016 News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edi on, along with a Weekend Edi on to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday. EDITOR S NOTE: So that our employees can enjoy the holiday weekend, the STAR will not publish on Monday, Feb. 15, Presidents Day. Reacting to Letter, Governor Says US Sen. Hatch Siding with Creditors Local Mainland Business Interna onal Viewpoint Entertainment INDEX No cias en Español Legal No ces Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons By JOHN MCPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com Orrin Hatch Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said Thursday that Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch was taking the side of island creditors in a letter the senator sent the governor a day earlier requesting a laundry list of information on Puerto Rico s finances. This argument that information is lacking is one that the creditors are making about the government of Puerto Rico s capacity to pay, García Padilla said. He said the argument that Puerto Rico hasn t provided enough information is an argument in favor of congressional action and is therefore an excuse. The governor said several reports on Puerto Rico s finances have already been made, including a report by a former economist for the International Monetary Fund. They have more information on the finances of Puerto Rico than ever in history, García Padilla said. The governor challenged Hatch s assertion that Puerto Rico is experiencing a transparency challenge. The only thing that is not transparent here is the will of the Republicans to legislate in favor of Puerto Rico, the governor said. In his letter, Hatch requested that the information he was seeking be delivered to him by March 1. García Padilla said he would produce the information as soon as possible. Hatch, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said that all told, debts and unfunded public pension liabilities total $117 billion or more. A broad restructuring authority for debts associated with municipalities encompassing such a large amount of total liabilities would be unprecedented in the history of bankruptcy proceedings applied to municipalities, Hatch said. Unfortunately, it has been challenging to acquire recent verifiable financial information about Puerto Rico s financial condition. The senator said Puerto Rico has a large stock of severely underfunded public pension promises. Consequently, I am writing to obtain information that will prove useful to Congress and other stakeholders as we continue to work to find measures to assist the people of Puerto Rico as the government of Puerto Rico continues to face financial and transparency challenges, Hatch said. The veteran senator proceeded to list a series of questions and requests concerning Puerto Rico s financial state, including whether the governor agreed that Puerto Rico s general obligation (GO) debt, according to the Puerto Rico Constitution, has repayment priority over any other debt repayment. He also requested updated financial statements, including copies of all reportable event notices provided to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB); asked how many units associated with the government of Puerto Rico have authority to issue debt sold to investors on a tax-free basis, and what the amount of annual debt service payable by each of those units is, listed individually; asked if cost and expenditure controls of Commonwealth agencies have been improved recently; and included a list of questions about the Puerto Rican government s public sector pension system. In a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing the senator voiced skepticism over the restructuring authority sought by the Obama administration on behalf of the commonwealth. I do not believe the [Obama] administration has been straightforward about the nature of the debtrestructuring authority it is seeking for the territory, Hatch said, according to Washington, D.C. newspaper The Hill. Hatch said the restructuring authority sought by the administration would be unprecedented and that he was concerned that though Puerto Rico s Constitution requires payment of the GO debt first, the Obama administration s proposal would give priority to pension funds over bondholders. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the only witness at the hearing, said that if Puerto Rico is not allowed to restructure its debt, it will have decades of litigation with bondholders. You ll have a lost decade, Lew said, according to press reports. Sen. Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.) said the only reason Puerto Rico s debt crisis has been politicized is because hedge funds want to maximize their profits.

3 4 February 12-14, 2016 Governor Lauds Senate Passage of PREPA Restructuring Bill By JOHN MCPHAUL Gov. Alejandro García Padilla on Thursday lauded the Puerto Rico Senate s vote to restructure the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), saying the measure guarantees that PREPA will not be privatized and will remain in the hands of the Puerto Rican people. The Senate passed the measure Wednesday night in a vote. This bill guarantees the stabilization of the electricity bill to the extent that it permits us to produce energy efficiently, permits external investment in the production of energy as is the case with [two existing private energy companies] Ecoeléctrica and AES, the governor said in a press conference at La Fortaleza. And it also guarantees that [PREPA] continues to be ours, that there will be no firings of public employees and that there is a flow of capital to be able to buy fuel and diversify the source of energy. He said the senators who voted against the measure voted in favor of increasing energy costs and for firing PREPA personnel. [Voting against the bill] is to vote for privatization and for PREPA to stop being ours, García Padilla said. Because if we don t revitalize PREPA, the creditor can go to court, which would name a receiver and to pay the debt they would increase the electricity bill without the Puerto Rican government having anything to say about it. The bill also guarantees PREPA a line of credit to buy oil to power its plants. Passage of the restructuring bill is an important part of the deal PREPA has made with its creditors to pay down the utility s $8 billion debt. The PREPA debt deal in turn is widely regarded as a key step in addressing Puerto Rico s $70-plus billion public debt. It would be impossible to restructure the rest of the debt if we did not approve this bill achieving the restructuring of PREPA, García Padilla said [Without the bill] it would show that we don t have the will to do what we have to do. García Padilla s comments came on the second day of a two-day strike by the Electrical and Irrigation Industry Workers Union (UTIER by its Spanish acronym), which represents PREPA employees and which protested the bill s passage. Saying that he was attentive to the union s demands, García Padilla tried to assure union members that the bill was in their interest. This bill defends your jobs, it impedes privatization, the governor said. PREPA Executive Director Javier Quintana Méndez said passage of the PREPA bill gives the power authority the necessary tools to transform the public corporation, according to the local press. The approval of the bill by the Senate demonstrates the continued progress that we are making to transform PREPA, Quintana Méndez said. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Jaime Perelló said it will have difficulty garnering the 26 votes needed for passage, according to press reports. House Minority Leader Jenniffer González said Thursday that her delegation had no chance to provide input into the PREPA bill save for a single House committee hearing, and that New Progressive Party lawmakers will vote unanimously against the legislation. Seilhamer Blasts PREPA Restructuring Bill, Says Rate Hike Imminent By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA mirandasanjuanstar@gmail.com N ew Progressive Party (NPP) Senate Minority Leader Larry Seilhamer on Thursday charged that the bill to restructure the debt of the Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA), passed late Wednesday by the island Senate, will come hand in hand with a hike in electricity rates. He also blasted the legislation for not taking into account a balance of benefits, saying it only protects creditors while placing residential, commercial and industrial customers at risk. Senate Bill 1523 was passed, after an extensive debate, with 16 votes in favor and 10 against, the no votes coming from the NPP delegation, Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP) Sen. María de Lourdes Santiago and Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Sens. Cirilo Tirado and Mari Tere González. The STAR tried to obtain a reaction from Senate President Eduardo Bhatia regarding the prospects for a hike in the electricity rate, but he was not immediately available as of press time. Seilhamer said in a written statement that the consequences of this bill are an imminent rate hike in electricity bills. The securitization chapter leads to a new rate that will in turn lead to the collapse of our economy, the minority senator said. He added that the payment of the new [bond] issue is guaranteed with an increase in customers rates for the next 35 years. Seilhamer alleged that the proposal puts the people at risk by making them responsible for paying the utility s debt. He also noted that the legislation establishes a negative precedent for future negotiations with Puerto Rico creditors. The governor s economic team is negotiating with Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation [COFINA by its Spanish acronym] bondholders and those who have constitutional protections a debt cut of between 30 and 40 percent, Seilhamer charged. However, this bill established a cut of only 15 percent of the debt to PREPA creditors. He added that the bill also contemplates a board whose members would be selected by a private entity. The governor will have to select six people from a list supplied by a private firm, the veteran lawmaker said. We don t know who responds to this company and this definitely diminishes constitutional executive and legislative powers because it usurps the power of appointment and the exercise of advice and consent that the governor and Legislative Assembly have. Larry Seilhamer

4 February 12-14, US Rep. Gutiérrez Defends PR in Congress By JOHN MCPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday to ask Congress to free Puerto Rico to manage its public debt, enunciating a series of grievances he said are crying for redress. Free Puerto Rico so she can solve the problem of her crushing debt without being handcuffed by Congress, its distant and inattentive colonial master, Gutiérrez said. Free Puerto Rico so that her hospitals can stay open for sick moms and dads and her schools stay open for children. Nobody should fear that their house will burn down because the firemen have not been paid. Gutiérrez said that the response to Puerto Rico s debt crisis in Washington, the one place that Puerto Rico is forced to rely on, has been very little. Greedy bondholders and hedge-fund managers only care about Puerto Rico as a wager -- a way to make money whether Puerto Rico sinks or swims, said the congressman of Puerto Rican descent. Right now, Puerto Rico needs serious, sustained attention from Washington to find a path forward such that Puerto Rico is neither absolved of her obligations nor mortally wounded by them. Gutiérrez said the United States has a responsibility to care for Puerto Rico and its people by virtue of the U.S. Supreme Court s ruling that Puerto Rico belongs to, but is not part of, the United States. Congress must take responsibility for the fact that we expect Puerto Rico to pay its obligations, but we force her to play by a particular set of rules, the congressman said. Puerto Rico cannot declare bankruptcy because Congress passed a law saying they cannot. He said Puerto Rico is under the chokehold of the Jones Act, the cabotage law which Gutiérrez said costs Puerto Ricans $500 million extra in food bills alone. He said a large chunk of the best agricultural land, 13 percent, has been taken by the U.S. for military bases. Puerto Rico is a tropical island, but a lot of its fruits and vegetables and almost all of its food is imported, the veteran Congressman said. We must allow Puerto Rico to create an agricultural economy that allows Puerto Ricans to feed themselves. The economy produces goods the people do not consume and the people consume goods they did not produce. He said the U.S. government has been caught red-handed stealing water from Puerto Rico s fresh-water supply but has not been held responsible or made to pay. When the military pollutes Vieques or Culebra, does the U.S. government feel any obligation? Not really, Gutiérrez said. So, Mr. Speaker, when Congress talks about Puerto Rico s debt, I say we look at the totality of the debt; the part owed to Puerto Rico, not just the part Puerto Rico owes to Wall Street. Every soldier she has sent to war, every time the U.S. has stepped in to override her courts or her government -- these debts add up but are not accounted for. Gutiérrez said the solution that has been struck upon for a debt accrued by playing a deck and all the rules rigged against them is a fiscal control board that will [t]ake away what little autonomy they have left and add a new layer of Washington control over the colony. Instead, he said, Congress should [f]ree Puerto Rico s people to unleash their inherent hard-working character, spirit, and dedication. Free Puerto Ricans to work and toil and build and create. Free Puerto Rico so that she can build a sustainable economy that keeps her people at home, in the land of their birth and their heritage, he said. Gutiérrez said Congress should not get sidetracked by seeing Puerto Rico s economic health exclusively through a lens of Food Stamps, Medicaid, government programs and further dependency on Washington. We must make the conversation about jobs for Puerto Ricans. Jobs that build the economy and the tax base and the self-sufficiency of the island, he said. We must free Puerto Rico so that the Puerto Rican people can free themselves.

5 6 February 12-14, 2016 Approval of PREPA Reform Bill May Complicate Talks with Holders of More Senior Credit By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA The PREPA Revitalization Act, Senate Bill 1523, passed in the upper chamber late Wednesday night in a vote and was approved with only minor amendments, despite weeks of extensive debates over contentious issues. Financial analyst Daniel Hanson of Washington, D.C.-based Height Securities on Thursday said that when the final legislation cleared the chamber, it left the power to raise rates in the hands of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission while creating a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle to issue new bonds pursuant to PREPA s Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA). The legislation will continue to be debated in the House, with final passage expected within the next two weeks, Hanson said. The Legislature has fiercely opposed certain parts of the legislation, but in the final analysis, the Senate approved the bill because it felt the creditors held significantly more leverage in the restructuring process. However, one persistent concern, expressed at length on the Senate floor Wednesday, was that bondholders of credits senior to PREPA -- including general obligations (GO) and Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (CO- FINA by its Spanish acronym) bonds -- would refuse any haircut exceeding the 15 percent legislated in the PREPA Revitalization Act, since the legal claims of GO and COFINA are often considered stronger than those of PREPA bonds. Despite the relatively positive momentum generated by the Senate passage of the PREPA Revitalization Act, the final bond tender on PREPA bonds continues to face long odds to completion, particularly since a variety of external actors must be brought along in the process of restructuring, Hanson added. In this context, Hanson noted that Excelerate s Aguirre Offshore Regasification facility continues to deteriorate without final approval for construction. On Feb. 1, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began to revise its biological assessment to comply with considerations from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) A. ZEPEDA REALTY COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES MANAGEMENT INCOME PRODUCING PROPERTY Please Contact Atilio Zepeda Lic. # atiliozepedarealty@gmail.com Daniel Hanson and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding the implications of the project for endangered species in the area. Normally, FERC permitting would require these assessments to be made prior to the issue of a conditional authorization, but in Aguirre s case, the authorization preceded the assessment. FERC noted that, while Excelerate had provided extensive data to the Commission, it still lacked responses on four key items, to which Excelerate provided responses on Monday, Hanson said. The responses mirror responses laid out in a Dec. 15 filing, implying to us that the conferring agencies (FWS and NMFS) do not find the responses to be an adequate basis for determining compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Hanson also said he anticipates within the next few weeks further delays in the Aguirre permit process that could further lengthen the timeframe for completion of the facility, or potentially derail construction altogether. Meanwhile, Hanson also touched on the counterproposal from COFINA creditors. On Feb. 4, creditors owning senior COFINA debt reportedly delivered a proposal to the island government that would save the commonwealth as much as $19 billion and provide nearterm liquidity. The measures included in the proposal would reduce debt service over the short-run, impair a variety of credits (including COFINA subs), and protect senior COFINA bonds from a Net Present Value (NPV) reduction despite stretched payment terms, he added. And as the Government Development Bank (GDB) has yet to respond to the proposal, Hanson said he finds it unlikely to be met with enthusiasm by Commonwealth officials. Importantly, the proposal would limit the size of the haircut to be taken by creditors and would elevate COFINA senior claims above the other claims of creditors in the Commonwealth s debt stock, including GO bondholders, Hanson noted. Should the Commonwealth surprisingly agree to the CO- FINA proposal, GO creditors would almost certainly challenge the legal validity of such an approach, potentially invalidating the COFINA authorizing statutes fundamental logic altogether. The plan as presented would give Puerto Rico much-needed liquidity relief as it seeks to restructure its operations, but the plan is distressingly lacking in immediate protections for non-cofina senior creditors. The Commonwealth s incremental liquidity access would also be limited sharply relative to the amount of liquidity the government has previously claimed it needs under the proposal issued Monday, Hanson added. The COFINA proposal relies on a most favored nation clause, a typical tool for helping to forge exit financing for various debtors, but the clause fails to recognize the constitutional priority of claims, instead relying on a statutory lien on revenues to effectuate the protection of certain bonds, the analyst said. The proposal as delivered by the creditors is likely more of a bargaining chip than anything else, designed to paint creditors as reasonable negotiators in advance of congressional action, potential court cases, and the hearings concerning the Recovery Act at the Supreme Court on March 22, he noted. Hanson further noted that the commonwealth s proposal itself was likely made in part to send a message back to Congress and the courts that Puerto Rico was willing to engage creditors seriously in consensual debt restructuring talks. Just as the Commonwealth s proposal has faced a frosty reception with creditors, we expect preliminary proposals from various creditor groups to face long odds for completion with Commonwealth officials, Hanson said.

6 February 12-14,

7 8 February 12-14, 2016 Scant Participation in 2nd Day of Electrical Workers Strike By JOHN MCPHAUL T he Electrical and Irrigation Industry Workers Union (UTIER) held the second day of a two-day walkout Thursday morning with little participation from the rank and file, but union officials expected greater participation as the day progressed, reported Inter News Service. Ángel Figueroa Jaramillo, president of the union that represents Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority(PREPA) workers, said Thursday that there are more than yesterday when a reporter noted the scant participation in the strike in front of the Puerto Rico Convention Center in Miramar. The strikers picketed in front of the Convention Center, where Gov. Alejandro García Padilla opened the 2016 Puerto Rico Investment Summit. Figueroa Jaramillo expected more workers to join the strike as the day passed and the marchers converged on the Capitol, where the House of Representatives was considering the bill to revitalize PREPA. The bill was approved late Wednesday in the Senate by a vote. For Figueroa Jaramillo, the restructuring bill is a gift from the electrical industry to the PREPA bondholders. He said the bill provides for a $2.4 billion increase in PREPA s debt with a new bond offer that the public will pay for with increase in electricity rates. The bill creates a new authority that will assume the debt and will be in charge of paying, according to complex specifications in the bill. The union leader said he believes the bill can be stopped to the extent that we continue to discuss how bad [it] is. If we fall into a crisis by indebting ourselves, it is inconceivable that we approve more debt, he said. Proponents of the bill said the new debt is necessary to make investments in energy conversion to natural gas and clean energy options. But Figueroa Jaramillo said the priority will change from maintaining PREPA operations to paying the bondholders, and what is left over is going to go to the operations. He said that when the operations are stretched thin for lack of money, workers benefits such as retirement and medical plans will be reduced and electricity rates will be increased. Figueroa Jaramillo said that under the bill, if a PREPA client stops paying his or her power bill, the authority can put a lien on property until the debt is paid. The union leader said other measures to finance specific projects could be used for capital improvements and infrastructure that would be less costly for the utility and its clients than issuing new debt. Lúgaro Takes SEC to Court Over Rejected Endorsements By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA mirandasanjuanstar@gmail.com I ndependent gubernatorial hopeful Alexandra Lúgaro announced Thursday that she has filed a lawsuit in San Juan Superior Court against We Steam Clean.. 2 Matresses - Any Size! the State Elections Commission (SEC) declaring that the SEC can not reject an endorsement over an incompatible signature. Lúgaro, an attorney by profession, said the Electoral Law doesn t specify that the SEC has the authority to reject endorsements by comparing CARPET WE ARE YOUR INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING SOLUTION RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIES lncluded dust mite anti allergent for only $ regular price $ save $ sofá 1 love seat for $ regular price $ save $50.00 (dry time 45 minute) Metro Area Only Special until February 15, 2016 Dust Mites is one of ASTHMA sufferers worst enemies!! CARPET Sale Commercial/ Residential 10% Off Discount - Only in Cleaning Services For More Information Call Us (787) (787) (787) Alexandra Lúgaro signatures that were stamped years and even decades ago. The official appointed [by the SEC to collect the endorsements] doesn t have to compare the voter s signature with the one that may exist in the SEC records, where a signature could have been obtained years or even decades ago, reads the document. Electoral cards don t specify an expiration date. For example a person may have gotten their first voting card when they turned 18 and still live at the same address, hence the electoral card is still valid some 20 years later, unless the SEC notifies the voter otherwise. Lúgaro is seeking an injunction on the SEC action, claiming that Article of the Electoral Law does not include discrepancies in signatures as a cause for invalidating an endorsement. She also said the article refers to primary elections and therefore does not apply in her case because she is an independent candidate who will not participate in primary elections. Lúgaro s lawsuit seeks to establish as null and illegal any process established by the SEC that denies endorsement petitions due to discrepancies in voters signatures or incompatibility in signatures. The lawsuit also requests that the court order the SEC to give the candidate sufficient time to correct any errors in the endorsements she has turned in. The SEC acts in ultra vires [beyond its power] by submitting would-be independent candidates to processes and criteria that haven t been established in the Electoral Law, and that are clearly arbitrary and biased, reads the 22-page document signed by attorney Adrián Díaz. Lúgaro said the lawsuit would be filed on Wednesday afternoon, moments after she turned in 26,882 endorsements, meeting the minimum required by the SEC. Other claims included in the filing are aimed at declaring unconstitutional Article of the Electoral Law, which makes direct reference to number of endorsements that independent candidates must turn in. The SEC s actions through the validations unit are a clear and evident demonstration of a severe violation of constitutional rights, she noted. José Vargas Vidot, an independent candidate for an at-large Senate seat, also went to court to challenge the number of endorsements he needed to turn in. Before a decision was made, the SEC issued a resolution establishing that Vargas Vidot only needed to turn in 8,930 endorsements rather than the 53,000 required under the Electoral Law. Manuel Izquierdo and Héctor Pabón, Vargas Vidot s attorneys, are now requesting that San Juan Superior Court Judge Aileen Navas dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that it is now academic. According to the SEC resolution, the new figure was determined by dividing by six the 53,578 endorsements an independent candidate needs to turn in by law. The divisor of six corresponds to the number of at-large Senate seats per political party that are up for grabs in the elections. Independent gubernatorial hopeful Manuel Cidre reportedly said SEC President Liza García s decision in the case of Vargas Vidot was a partial and exclusive one. I think the figure of 8,930 endorsements is still high, but [more to the point] is the statement of the SEC president, who doesn t even mention the other aspirants to different elective posts running independently, which gives the impression that the SEC is excluding them and that this is a completely one-sided determination [rendered] to one person, Cidre said.

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9 10 February 12-14, 2016 CDC Ships Zika Test for Pregnant Women; PR at Risk The government is shipping Zika virus tests for pregnant women to health departments around the country, but warning there could be temporary shortages, as travelers try to tell if they returned with an infection that could put a developing baby at risk. Health officials don t expect widespread transmission of the mosquito-borne virus in the continental United States, but said Thursday that Puerto Rico is especially vulnerable. They asked for emergency funding from Congress to battle an outbreak that is quickly spreading through Latin America. We may see rapid spread through the island and we need to respond urgently, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee. The Zika virus is suspected of causing a rare but potentially devastating birth defect, an abnormally small head, which can indicate underlying brain damage. Brazil has reported an apparent increase in cases of that defect, called microcephaly, as Zika exploded in that country, although scientists haven t definitively proven the link. With each passing day the evidence that Zika is causally related gets stronger, Frieden said. Even in this week, the data that s come out makes it look very much like this is a virus that s what we call neurotropic -- it targets the nerve cells. His agency last month found the Zika virus in the brain tissue of two dead newborns from Brazil and in placentas from two miscarriages. On Wednesday, European researchers caring for a woman who returned there from Brazil reported a post-abortion autopsy that found the virus in her fetus severely damaged brain -- one a fraction of the proper size and lacking the usual crinkly folds. If someone is actively infected, the CDC has a test that diagnoses Zika fairly well. But most people experience no symptoms or very mild one, and the antibody test used to tell afterward if they were infected isn t very accurate. It might reflect prior infection with related viruses instead. The CDC is urging pregnant women or those trying to become pregnant not to travel to Zika-affected areas. But if they already did, the CDC is telling doctors to test the women for Zika between two weeks and 12 weeks after they return. Those thought to have been infected then could undergo ultrasound scans to monitor fetal development. Frieden said the agency has shipped 62,000 of those Zika tests for pregnant women to health departments and is working on more but there may be a period of weeks or a couple of months where there aren t enough tests for the women who want to have them done. How long after Zika exposure is it safe to get pregnant? Asked by lawmakers, Frieden responded, If this behaves as other viruses behave, there would be no risk to the next pregnancy after some period of a month or so, but we don t know that for sure. The Obama administration has asked Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika at home and abroad, including mosquito eradication, study of the microcephaly link and developing a vaccine. We are stretched, Frieden said, telling lawmakers the money is needed fast, within weeks. Asked if health officials couldn t instead use unspent money that Congress allocated for Ebola in West Africa, Frieden said those remaining dollars are committed to ensuring the remnants of that outbreak are stamped out. Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said later Thursday that the House would act on the Zika spending request, though he said Republicans would search for spending cuts elsewhere in the budget to cover the cost and would scrub it for unnecessary items. We do anticipate some kind of bipartisan action on this because this... is a problem we want to get ahead of, Ryan said. NTSB to Launch 2nd Search Mission for Wrecked Freighter Federal investigators are launching a second search of the wreckage of a freighter that sank Oct. 1 near the Bahamas, officials said Thursday. The two-week expedition organized by the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to begin in April, according to a news release. Investigators hope to locate the data recorder or black box and develop a more extensive and detailed survey of the shipwreck. The voyage data recorder may hold vital information about the challenges encountered by the crew in trying to save the ship, NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart said in the release. Getting that information could be very helpful to our investigation. The 790-foot freighter El Faro sank after losing engine power and getting caught in a Category 4 hurricane from Jacksonville to San Juan. Thirty-three mariners were aboard. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson told The Associated Press that it s uncommon for investigators to launch a second investigation, because the data recorder is usually easier to locate. It s been quite some time since we had a challenge in locating a data recorder like this, Knudson said. The ship was found in 15,000 feet of water, its top two bridge decks detached. Crews located one of the missing decks about a half-mile from the main part of the ship. The data recorder had been mounted at the base of a mast, but that structure wasn t found during the first search, which ended Nov. 15. The new search will involve an autonomous underwater vehicle covering more than 13 square miles with video, sonar and other sensors, according to the release. The El Faro s black box was capable of recording conversations and sounds on the navigation bridge. This could help investigators understand the sequence of events that led to the sinking. If the data recorder is located, then a remotely operated vehicle will be sent to retrieve it.