Congressman Soto's Statement about Puerto Rico's Upcoming Plebiscite

Statement

Today, U.S. Representative Darren Soto (D-FL) released the following statement:

Puerto Rico's unresolved political status is intimately connected to many of the Island's challenges including its fiscal, economic and demographic crisis. The decision on Puerto Rico's ultimate political status has to come from the people, and it's not my place to try to tell them how to vote. Yet as a Member of the U.S. Congress from Florida, representing a district with a large Puerto Rican population, and being of Puerto Rican heritage myself, I take great interest in the issue. And I look forward to seeing the outcome of the June 11thplebiscite.

I encourage my fellow citizens from Puerto Rico to participate in the plebiscite and I will strongly support its outcome. As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, which has direct jurisdiction over Puerto Rican affairs, I want to reaffirm my commitment to advocate strongly for the federal government to honor and respect the wishes and will of the people of Puerto Rico.

Ultimately, I believe that it is in the best interest of my constituents, our fellow citizens in the territory, and America as a whole, that Congress work to ensure a strong and vibrant Puerto Rico. Congress must resolve Puerto Rico's political status to unleash its full economic potential and return prosperity to the island.

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