The Obama administration is urging Congress to devise a plan to help rescue Puerto Rico from its massive $72 billion debt crisis before it implodes into an even bigger "humanitarian crisis."

On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department outlined a proposal to help the island get out of its financial fix. Officials in the Obama administration then presented that plan to the Senate Energy and Natural Affairs Committee on Thursday, hoping to win approval from the Republican-controlled Congress. Lawmakers, however, did not seem to be receptive to the plan.

Under the plan, the Treasury Department is asking congressional lawmakers to create a blueprint that would permit Puerto Rico to restructure its debt. Their plan would include more fiscal oversight over Puerto Rico's finances, along with an expansion of Medicaid and low-income tax credits. The plan would also create a new territorial bankruptcy regime.

"Puerto Rico is out of cash and running out of options," said Antonio Weiss, a Treasury Department official, to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, according to BBC News.

"In the very near future, Puerto Rico will face impossible choices among providing essential services, delivering promised pension benefits and paying its debt."

In describing the package for reporters on Wednesday, administration officials stressed the needed for quick action by Congress in order to avoid a catastrophe.

"Administrative actions cannot solve the crisis," said Jacob Lew, the Treasury secretary, in a joint statement with Jeffrey Zients, the National Economic Council director, and Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the Health and Human Services secretary. "Only Congress has the authority to provide Puerto Rico with the necessary tools to address its near-term challenges and promote long-term growth."

Likewise, an unnamed senior administration official warned that the situation in Puerto Rico "risks turning into a humanitarian crisis as early as this winter." The official added that the Puerto Rican government has already "done a lot" to restore fiscal order, but "Puerto Rico cannot do it on its own, and the United States government has a responsibility to 3.5 million Americans living in Puerto Rico" to provide additional help.

On Wednesday, the Obama administration also announced its support to grant Puerto Rico's cities with access to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which is granted to all 50 U.S. states. Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla has been begging Congress for the bankruptcy option, which would allow the island to negotiate in a court with bondholders, CNN Money reports. However, as of now, it must negotiate individually with holders of its vast array of bonds. Puerto Rican officials have also said the debt will soon force them to choose between paying government workers and pensioners or paying bondholders.

The Obama administration's proposal is unlikely to be approved by Congress, which seems to be mostly uninterested in passing any reforms. Instead, only a few American officials have called for a rescue plan and advocated in favor of giving Puerto Rico the same bankruptcy rights as U.S. states.

Puerto Rico's financial crisis has not been a pressing topic on the presidential campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley commended the Obama administration for finally taking steps to ease the commonwealth's struggles.

"I applaud the Obama Administration for taking the much-needed step forward to ensure that our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico are treated equitably by our healthcare system and are able to responsibly restructure the island's debt," O'Malley said in a statement. "In the face of this challenge, Governor Garcia Padilla has squared his shoulders, and now it's time for Congress to act and do the right thing for our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico."

Fellow presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she will do "everything" to help the island, including helping its health disparities.

"The challenge is multi-faceted, and will ultimately require Puerto Rico to find a way to pay back its debtors in an orderly fashion," she said in a separate statement. "As a first step, Congress should provide Puerto Rico the same authority that states already have to enable severely distressed government entities, including municipalities and public corporations, to restructure their debts under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code."