Congress responds to the statehood claim of the people of Puerto Rico
Press Release
Under the motto, fighting for equality and democracy for our fellow Americans, a group of 51 legislators in the federal House of Representatives led by the only representative of Puerto Rico before Congress, Jenniffer González Colón (R-PR) and Congressman for Florida of Puerto Rican origin Darren Soto (D-FL) filed legislation to formally lay the foundations for the admission process of Puerto Rico as a state of the United States. In the upper house, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) leads the initiative that will be presented soon.
The legislation is a direct response to the demand, for the third time in a row, by the majority of the island's residents in favor of statehood. The measure was introduced today, March 2, when Puerto Ricans commemorate 104 years of having been granted American citizenship under the then Jones Act of 1917.
"The only way to have a first class citizenship for the people of Puerto Rico is through the admission of the territory as a state of the Union. Although Puerto Rico is fully integrated into the nation's economic system, it is nonetheless foreign for tax purposes, not incorporated for tariff purposes, and treated unequally when it comes to funding for Medicaid programs and Medicare, among other federal programs. There is only one way to change all this, and it is through the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the union and precisely this measure seeks that, the transition to statehood as the people of Puerto Rico have claimed at the polls for three consecutive times, "said the resident commissioner.
"As members of Congress, we have a responsibility to listen to the demands of the American people, and they have spoken," said Congressman Soto.. "Last November, American citizens in Puerto Rico gave us a clear mandate: they want their destiny to be statehood for the island. Now, the time has come to finally admit Puerto Rico as a state of our nation. Our landmark legislation, enacted in a bipartisan manner, will finally end more than 120 years of colonialism and provide full rights and representation to more than 3.2 million American citizens. This inequality experienced by the residents of Puerto Rico, being a colony, has manifested itself even more with the passage of the consecutive hurricanes of 2017, earthquakes and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Our quest for statehood is about respecting democracy and equal rights in Puerto Rico and at the national level. We look forward to working with President Biden and the leaders of Congress, of both parties, and chambers to advance and approve the Law for the Admission of Puerto Rico as a state. Together we will forge a new chapter in our nation's history when Puerto Rico becomes a full member on equal terms with the rest of the states. ".
"Last November, the majority of Puerto Ricans voted in favor of statehood and for their representation with full voting rights in the United States. Congress now has a moral responsibility to respond, "Heinrich said, member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the territories of the United States. "That is why I am proud to join Congressmen González-Colón and Soto in announcing bicameral legislation that will create a clear and direct path to formally admit Puerto Rico as a state. My home state of New Mexico had a similar struggle to achieve statehood. It took 50 New Mexico statehood bills and 64 years before we were finally admitted as a state of the United States. I think that for a long time the millions of American citizens who live in Puerto Rico should have obtained the representation at the national level that they deserve ".
"It is time for Congress to act. Our people sent a clear message and this project that our Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González and Congressman Darren Soto are filing is the answer that our people deserve. Those of us who aspire to equality will never consent to discrimination and inequality. The majority rule, and the majority want the equality that only statehood gives us. Our people gave a forceful mandate on November 3, when 53% of the voters said yes to Equality, which only guarantees statehood. The time has come for the will expressed at the polls by the overwhelming majority of the people of Puerto Rico to be respected, that vote is sacred and those who ignore it lack democracy and the decision of the voters. Today, expressed the governor and past member of Congress, Pedro Pierluisi.
"Statehood is the right direction to serve the best interests of Puerto Rico and the nation. Statehood will strengthen Puerto Rico and make the United States a "more perfect union." Never has a territory of the United States had to wait longer than Puerto Rico before it was granted independence or admitted as a state. Puerto Ricans have voted three times in the last 8 years to become a full and equal member of the American family. We have earned the right to be heard and to become first-class citizens and we in Congress, well, at least those of you who can vote, since I don't have permission to do so, we should act quickly to implement our democratically expressed aspiration. I challenge you, my dear colleagues in Congress, to be on the right side of history and keep up with the times, unlike previous Congresses, resolving, once and for all, this unfinished business of American democracy. The future of more than 3 million American citizens is in their hands ... ", stated González Colón.
Authors of the measure To the congressmen, Jenniffer González-Colón (PR) and Darren Soto (D-Florida) join: Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida); Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Florida); Ritchie Torres (D-New York); David Trone (D-Maryland); Juan Vargas (D-California); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida); Susan Wild (D-Pennsylvania); Frederica Wilson (D-Florida) Andrew Garbarino (R-New York); Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida); John Katko (R-New York); Bill Posey (R-Florida); Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida); and Pete Sessions (R-Texas);
Also joining the measure are: Don Young (R-Alaska); Ami Bera (D-California); Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia); Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania); Salud Carbajal (D-California); André Carson (D-Indiana); Kathy Castor (D-Florida); Lou Correa (D-California); Charlie Crist (D-Florida); Val Demings (D-Florida); Ted Deutch (D-Florida); Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania); Bill Foster (D-Illinois); Lois Frankel (D-Florida); Rubén Gallego (D-Arizona); Alcee L. Hastings (D-Florida); Derek Kilmer (D-Washington); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois); Jerry McNerney (D-California); Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida); Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey); Stacey Plaskett (DU.S. Virgin Islands); Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland); Michael San Nicolas (D-Guam); Albio Sires (D-New Jersey); Eric Swalwell (D-California); Elise Stefanik (R-New York); Michael Waltz (R-FL).
What does the measure establish? The draft Admission Act establishes that the President of the United States must notify the Governor of Puerto Rico that it has been converted into law; then the governor must call an election where the voters will ratify their desire for Puerto Rico to be admitted as a state. In the referendum the following question will be asked: "Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted to the Union as a state, in accordance with the terms prescribed in the approved Law of Congress (date of approval of the law)? Otherwise ____". This is the same process that was used in Hawai'i and Alaska when they were admitted as the last two states in 1959.
If Yes is won, the president of the State Elections Commission (CEE) of Puerto Rico must certify the results and send them to the governor. The governor will have a term of 10 days to communicate the results to the president of the United States, president of the House of Representatives and the federal Senate. The President of the United States will have to issue a proclamation declaring the certification of the results and the date on which Puerto Rico must be admitted as a state, the latter cannot occur more than 12 months after the certification of the results by the EEC. If No prevails in the referendum, the Law for the Admission of Puerto Rico as a state will cease to be effective, because Puerto Rico would have rejected the admission as provided by law.
Tempering statutes and representation under statehood The law requires that the governor call an election to choose the new representatives of Puerto Rico to the House and the federal Senate, which could be until the same day of the ratification vote. This within a period between after the certification of the election for the congressional delegation, but no later than 12 months after the certification of the ratification vote.
In the first election of the senators, after Puerto Rico is admitted as a state, two candidates will be chosen; the same person cannot be a candidate for both seats. The Senate will determine to which class each of the new senators for Puerto Rico belongs and when it will be their turn to go to election; This is because the Senate divides its members into 3 classes, for electoral purposes, to determine when they will be reelected, since their terms are 6 years and not all of them go to reelection at the same time, only 1/3 by choice.
Currently, Classes I and II of the Senate have 33 members, and Class III has 34 members. So if Puerto Rico becomes State 51, our Senators would be part of Class I and Class II (thus each class has 34 members). The Senate would determine which of the 2 elected senators would be Class I and which would be Class II. In the first election of representatives to the federal Chamber and in subsequent elections until a next redistricting by the Census, Puerto Rico will have the same number of representatives as the state with the population closest to the island, but less than Puerto Rico.
All state and federal laws that are not in conflict with the Law for the Admission of Puerto Rico as a state will remain in force; all those officers in legislative, executive and official positions of the state government of Puerto Rico, will continue in their respective positions; all contracts, obligations, demands, debts and claims to the government of Puerto Rico will remain in force; the government of the state of Puerto Rico will maintain the ownership of the lands and properties as up to now as well as the federal government. The measure nullifies any federal or territorial law incompatible with statehood. If any part of this law were to be invalid by a court, the other parts would not be affected. Background
Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War; Since 1917, over 235,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces. Currently, 3.2 million American citizens reside in Puerto Rico without having full democratic rights, benefits, or equal access to national programs that fight poverty and promote economic development. They also do not have full representation in Congress and cannot vote for the president. On November 3, a referendum was held alongside the general local elections, where for the first time it was asked if the people of Puerto Rico wanted Puerto Rico to be a state of the union: yes or no. The absolute majority, 52.52%, voted in the affirmative.
Puerto Ricans travel to DC to demand action from Congress A group of elected officials from Puerto Rico and civic leaders traveled to the federal capital to demand that Congress respect the mandate of American citizens residing in Puerto Rico in favor of becoming a state of the Union. Among the local leaders were the president of the Federation of Mayors and his vice president of the mayors Ángel Pérez (Guaynabo) and María Vega (Vega Alta) respectively, the mayor Rosachely Rivera (Gurabo), Félix "El Cano" Delgado (Cataño) el Alternate Speaker in the Senate and PNP Secretary Carmelo Ríos, Senators Eugenio Matías, Keren Riquelme, William Villafañe, Nitza Morán and representatives Eddie Charbonier, Wanda del Valle,, Jorge Navarro Suárez, and Joel Franqui.
In addition, civil organizations were mobilized to the federal capital to demand the admission of Puerto Rico as a state, among them: Puerto Rico Chose Statehood; We The People; Statesman Mission, Statesman Ideological Reborn; Equality Safe Future; and PREC Florida.
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