U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill, took to the floor of Congress on Tuesday and addressed his colleagues on Puerto Rico’s economic crisis, which threatens to plummet the island into financial doom. Rep. Gutierrez, a Puerto Rican, appealed to his fellow congressmen and women, demanding they take responsibility for their duty to the U.S. territory.

“We own it. It is ours and we are responsible for it,” said. Rep. Gutierrez to Congress while pointing to a map of Puerto Rico. “The Congress of the United States governs this island. It is our colony and we rule over it.”

Rep. Gutierrez highlighted the role Congress must play to help the island territory out of its estimated $73 billion debt. The Obama administration cannot do anything to help Puerto Rico, the congressman explained.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the administration could do nothing to help Puerto Rico and beseech Congress to act, fearing inaction would be “chaotic, protracted and costly both for Puerto Rico and more broadly for the United States,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Congress oversees the island and it’s the only entity with the power to rewrite the law.

Yet, Congress has remained inactive despite calls from the island for help. Rep. Gutierrez went so far as to explain the historical background of Puerto Rico’s current crisis, tracing it back to Congress and the 1917 Jones Act. The law allowed the island issue triple-exempt bonds.

“Bonds that are free of federal, state and local taxes. Illinois can’t do that, neither can your state,” he said. What Puerto Rico needs is access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections, Rep. Gutierrez explained. The same protections the Jones Act took away.

“So Congress creates a tax-free bond haven and Wall Street jumps in with everything it has to buy Puerto Rican debt decade after decade,” he continued. “And get this -- the Puerto Rican Constitution says that bond holders must be paid before everything else.”

Bondholders have advised the Puerto Rican government to cut funding for schools and use the money to pay back its debt. Rep. Gutierrez bemoaned the possibility of curbing public services to appease Wall Street and argued for the protection of bankruptcy laws.

Last year, Puerto Rico’s representative to Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, introduced a bill to grant the island territory access to said laws, but it has stalled in the House. Earlier in July, Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced "Puerto Rico Chapter 9 Uniformity Act" to amend the financial laws concerning Puerto Rico. It has gathered the support so far of 10 senators.

However, the bills have faced backlash from hedge funds and bondholders, reports the Wall Street Journal, arguing upgraded laws would unfairly rewrite contracts.

“They [the bondholders] are fighting against a bill that would allow Puerto Rico -- like any other jurisdiction -- to declare bankruptcy because that could move decisions about who gets paid and in what order they get paid into a U.S. court of law,” said Rep. Gutierrez in Congress.

Puerto Rico has said it cannot pay back its debt and sees no alternative but to seek help from the U.S. government.

On Wednesday, Rep. Gutierrez appeared before Congress again and, in another speech in both Spanish and English, appealed to the Puerto Rican people to not be divided over politics, particularly concerning statehood, but stand together against Wall Street.

“At a time when the people of Puerto Rico must be clear, precise and unified, the status issue divides Puerto Ricans,” he said.

“The people must tell Wall Street that Puerto Rico is not some store to be looted and that the Puerto Rican people will not sit and starve as Wall Street counts its profits. If Wall Street is buying bonds at a discount, they should be paid at a discount.”

Puerto Rico needs to begin repayments on Aug. 1, but it cannot meet those expectations. Though it’s restructuring talks with banks, the island territory still needs the help of Congress to correct the crisis.

Watch Rep. Gutierrez’s Tuesday speech: