One of the biggest and most immediate problems for the island is the roughly $20 billion debt owed by three government-owned companies: the electricity utility, the water and sewer system and the highway authority. Because Puerto Rico is a territory, these businesses are not allowed to restructure their debt in Chapter 9 bankruptcies. Congress should approve a new bill that would allow these and other Puerto Rican government-owned companies, as well as municipalities, to use Chapter 9.

Some analysts and bankruptcy experts say that Congress should go even further and allow the government of Puerto Rico to file for bankruptcy. Some also argue that federal lawmakers should appoint a financial control board to oversee the island’s finances; this drastic step may not be warranted yet, but it is worth studying.

There is a lot that can be done to revive Puerto Rico’s economy. Stronger efforts to boost tourism, manufacturing and the services sector through targeted public investments could lead to faster growth. For example, Puerto Rico gets relatively few visitors despite its natural attractions. It had 3.2 million tourists in 2013, down from 3.7 million in 2005. By contrast, the Dominican Republic had 4.7 million tourists in 2013, up from 3.7 million in 2005.

The government could also improve its finances by raising taxes, which are very low by international standards. Puerto Rico only collects about 11 percent of its gross domestic product in taxes, compared with the 33 percent average for advanced countries. Gov. Alejandro García Padilla has proposed replacing the island’s 7 percent sales tax with a 16 percent value-added tax. That might be too large an increase given the economy’s weakness, but a smaller increase phased over time and higher income tax rates could help, as would better policing of tax evasion.

In addition to fixing its finances, Puerto Rico has to answer a bigger question about its future: Should it become a state? The government ought to hold another voter referendum on the issue. The last one, a nonbinding vote in 2012, was poorly worded and did not clearly establish that the majority of Puerto Ricans want statehood. Last year, Congress and President Obama budgeted $2.5 million for the territory to hold another referendum on its political status; Mr. Padilla said last year his government will hold a vote by 2016.