As the government of Puerto Rico warns it is running out of money, President Obama is proposing a major bailout plan. However, there are already signs that it may not pass the Republican-controlled Congress. As NY1’s Josh Robin reported, it all comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo is pledging to once again return to the island in an effort to spotlight what could be approaching chaos.

It has long been known that the financial picture for Puerto Rico is bleak.

At a hearing in Washington Thursday, the commonwealth's governor Alejandro García Padilla said it is only getting worse.

“Puerto Rico is running out of cash and will soon exhaust the emergency measures we are using to keep the government operating," García Padilla said.

That may mean paying its bondholders before firefighters, police and teachers. Declaring bankruptcy is not allowed under U.S. law.

On Wednesday, President Obama proposed changing that. It is asking that the commonwealth restructure $14 billion over five years. Whether it can is up to Congress.

So far, the Republican-led Congress wants clearer information; although the committee chairwoman didn't dispute the problems are real.

"What we do know is that a number of reports suggest that even with the emergency actions taken by the government of Puerto Rico, the government will run out of cash in November, just a few short weeks away," Senator Lisa Murkowski said.

The causes are complicated. More than 45 percent of the Commonwealth lives in poverty. The unemployment rate is twice the national average.

"The decade-long recession has taken its toll on Puerto Rico's finances, its economy and its people," U.S. Treasury Secretary counselor Antonio Weiss said.

What many Puerto Ricans say is the biggest injustice are laws making it a U.S. territory, devoid of the benefits of statehood or national sovereignty.

"The sovereignty of Puerto Rico resides in the Congress of the United States, and in fact, there hasn't been as much attention needed to the crisis, to the island of Puerto Rico, to the people of Puerto Rico as may be required," said Carlos Vargas-Ramos of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.

Governor Cuomo visited last month to draw attention. Friday, he said he would go back.

"Any way we can help Puerto Rico, we will,” Cuomo said. “It's very important, we have a very close relationship with Puerto Rico on many levels, so I'm totally committed to helping them."

It may not just be a matter of solidarity. Puerto Rico's finances are also said to be jeopardizing New York's pension funds.