Puerto Rico Status Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Speaker, before I begin today, I would like to express and begin my remarks by expressing solidarity with other U.S. colonies, colonized people, indigenous communities, and descendants of the enslaved.

Today represents a historic moment. While Puerto Rico is not the United States' only colony, it is its oldest. Today, for the first time in our Nation's history, the United States will acknowledge its role as a colonizing force and Puerto Rico's status as an extended colony.

The Puerto Rico Status Act begins a process for Boricuas to decide their own future.

In this bill, we have made historic and unprecedented gains. Never before have terms for independence and free association been so clearly defined, including ramifications for citizenship.

This bill excludes the current unsustainable colonial status. It clarifies that U.S. birthright citizenship and transmission of citizenship remain the same in any event of status selection.

It provides 10 years of compensatory finance in the event of free association, and it also includes an agreement to international election observers over the course of a plebiscite.

This bill has also achieved historic and unprecedented multiparty agreement on the island, including representatives from the Independence, Statehood, and Movimiento Victoria Parties. These gains are critically important to codify in precedent here in this House.

I also want to acknowledge, rightfully, some of the criticisms of what is not in this bill. It is not perfect. But we have fought tirelessly to expand the transparency where previously there was less, and there is still more to go. It does not address reparations. It does not address the issues of Act 20, PROMESA, and LUMA, but I am confident that in solidarity with movements on the island, we will solve these issues and achieve those victories, as well.

I also want to note that decolonization is more than a vote. It doesn't happen just with a vote. It is a social, political, cultural, economic, and psychological process that extends far beyond the floor of this House. That being said, the gains that are made here are a watershed moment.

I thank, first and foremost, my incredible mentor, Representative Nydia Velazquez, who has fought for the people of Puerto Rico for her entire career and her entire life.

I thank our other colleagues: Chairman Grijalva for elevating this issue, Leader Hoyer for making this a priority, as well as Resident Commissioner Gonzalez-Colon.

I also thank grassroots advocacy organizations as well as our partners in the Independence, Free Association, and Statehood Parties. These gains are incredibly important, and they are a waypoint and a stepping stone for the future of our island. I think it sends a very strong message to all. For there to be any vote, prior to any vote, we hope that the energy of people both in the diaspora and on the island are here.

Lastly, but certainly not least, as we ring out a refrain that is said among people across the world and Puerto Ricans across the world: ``Yo si soy boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas,'' ``I am Puerto Rican, so you know.''

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