Organizations Call House Panel to Push Through With Bill Enacting Puerto Rico Statehood
A coalition of more than four dozens of organizations called on a House Panel to push through with a bill that will enact a "Yes or No" on Puerto Rico statehood.
The Hill reported that at least 51 organizations called on the House Natural Resources Committee through a letter, asking the panel to mark up the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act.
The said letter was addressed to Committee Chairman Raúl Grijavala from Arizona and Bruce Westerman from Arkansas.
Organizations Wrote House Panel to Move Forward with Puerto Rico Statehood
In the letter sent to the House panel, the groups urged them to resolve the "undemocratic" and "unequal" status of Puerto Rico.
"After more than a century of uncertainty, it is time for Congress to stop delaying and take action to definitively resolve Puerto Rico's unequal and undemocratic territory status," the group claims.
The group also said in their letter that they are willing to a compromise bill that will allow Puerto Rican voters to choose between statehood, full independence, and free association.
The group furthered that "it would make sense" if the Hose Panel of Committee will arrange for a "markup" vote on Puerto Rico's statehood bill or establish a "markup consensus bill" that would offer Puerto Ricans a choice between choosing a "direct and implementable choice on statehood" or a constitutionally viable non-territory option which is "independence."
Meanwhile, the executive director of Puerto Rico Statehood Council, George Laws García, urged Congress to hear the pleas of the Puerto Ricans to pass the statehood admissions act.
"We are calling on Congress to listen to and respect the will of the majority of Puerto Rico's voters through passing the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act," García underscored.
The letter from the organization came after more than a year Puerto Ricans voted for a non-binding referendum or statehood for the seventh time, CBS News reported. In the voting that happened in November of 2020, 52 percent of Puerto Rican voters said yes to the idea of becoming the 51st U.S. State.
"We are very much part of America... We want to have the same rights. We want to vote for president, have congressional representation, and equal treatment in all the federal programs," Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Pierluisi said in an interview.
Puerto Rico has been a territory of the U.S. since 1898. Luis Muñoz Marin, the governor of the island in 1952 established the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with the idea of their island having a relationship with the U.S. while still having some of their independence.
2 Bills Introduced for Puerto Rico Statehood
In the light of the push to Puerto Rico's statehood, 2 bills were introduced in Congress to push through with Puerto Rico's statehood.
In April and June, Grijalva held hearings where witnesses discussed bills introduced by Representative Nydia Velasquez, called Puerto Rico Self Determination Act, and Representative Darren Soto called the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, which is a yes/no proposal.
According to Soto, his bill seeks to establish a "framework" for admission as well as a presidential proclamation in its passage, ratification vote, and the election of U.S. senators and representatives and the continuity of government, obligations, and government.
Soto's legislation mirrors the process used by Hawaii and Alaska into the union to be state of the U.S.
The debate about Puerto Rico's status had a foothold in Washington during the Trump administration. However, the pandemic and the political climate surrounding the 2020 election placed Capitol Hill's attention on other issues.
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Written By: Joshua Summers
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