WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee chairman says lawmakers must act quickly to help Puerto Rico manage its $70 billion debt as multimillion-dollar payments to creditors loom.

Utah Rep. Rob Bishop — who leads the House Natural Resources Committee — says Puerto Rico's financial woes will become much worse when the U.S. territory fails to make debt payments in less than a month. Republican-written legislation would create a tough board to manage Puerto Rico's finances.

In drafting that proposal, GOP lawmakers have tried to satisfy Puerto Rico's government, creditors and some conservatives. But Democrats and Puerto Rican officials worry that the new control board may have too much power.

And some conservatives are objecting because they say the plan would allow some court-supervised debt restructuring.