Civil rights group the League of United Latin American Citizens hosted a well-attended session at its 85th Annual National Convention on Friday in New York, "Puerto Rico in Crisis: Charting a Path Forward," to continue discussions on economic development and political empowerment.

The island's relationship with the United States is the subject of an ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and the United Nations as to whether it will remain a U.S. territory or become a U.S. state or an independent country. In a nonbinding referendum in 2012, Puerto Ricans voted 61 percent in favor of becoming a state.

The island is subject to federal laws and has a nonvoting representative in Congress. Residents have the right to elect their own government. They pay into Social Security and receive benefits, not including Supplemental Security Income. The island receives a fraction of the Medicaid funds it would get with statehood.

Last month, Puerto Rico's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, signed a bill that "allows certain public corporations to restructure their debt if needed." That action promoted credit rating agencies to downgrade bonds issued by those corporations, such as the three largest state-owned corporations, including the ones that manage power and water and sewer.

LULAC has "more than 2,500 members in Puerto Rico and a number of councils in the United States" on the island, according to the convention program. Puerto Rico is also a top agenda priority for LULAC National, the program states.

The panel discussion included Resident Commissioner Rep. Pedro Pierluisi; Claudia Gutierrez, Environmental Protection Agency senior adviser to the regional administrator; Juan Varona, former University of Puerto Rico-Cayey rector; and lawyer Francisco "Paco" Gonzalez, commissioner of the LULAC Puerto Rico Office of Legal Affairs.

An attendee wanted to know why there was not a federal request to amend title 23 of the U.S. Constitution to include Puerto Rico's right to vote.

"That's one of the main components of the claim for statehood, the voting rights, including voting for president," said Rep. Pedro Pierluisi. "So why haven't you've seen the statehood leadership seeking an amendment to the U.S. Constitution? It is easier for Puerto Rico to become a state [and] then to get a presidential vote. To become a state, you simply need a majority vote in the Congress. To amend the U.S. Constitution, you need a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate, and you need [three-quarters of the] states' legislatures -- assemblies and senates -- to bless it. It would be a massive effort, and you could still fail."