A group of Hispanic members of Congress called on the Treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew, to take a more muscular role in Puerto Rico’s debt crisis and prevent what they said could become “an economic catastrophe” on the island.

The eight lawmakers, all Democrats, said bankruptcy was the “best hope” both for Puerto Rico and its many creditors on the United States mainland. They urged Mr. Lew to work with Congress to move two pending bankruptcy bills forward, and to intervene in other ways, as Treasury secretaries did during the financial crisis of 2008.

“Treasury was instrumental to helping auto manufacturers weather tough times and stabilizing Wall Street during the 2008 crisis,” said Nydia M. Velázquez, a New York Democrat, who wrote the letter. “There’s no reason they can’t play a similar role here.”

General Motors and Chrysler were able to restructure their debts under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because the Treasury provided interim financing at a time when no private lender could be found. The auto restructurings also were handled by a special task force working out of the Treasury Department. Without the Treasury’s help, many experts said at the time, G.M. in particular would have had to liquidate, with devastating effects on jobs and the economy.