FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2021
Contact: Comms@prstatehoodcouncil.org
Washington, D.C. – Today, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council George Laws García released the following statement after a bipartisan group of Members of Congress introduced the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act. The bill would formally offer statehood to Puerto Rico and enable its admission after a ratification vote by the local electorate. The bill was introduced in response to the results of the November 2020 plebiscite, where an indisputable majority of the electorate voted “YES” to statehood.
“The introduction of the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act today in both the House and Senate is a critical step to ensure that Congress listens to the will of the majority of Puerto Rico’s voters who said ‘YES’ to statehood last November. The filing of this bill on the 104th anniversary of the day Congress granted U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico, is a stark reminder of the work that remains to be done to fulfill America’s promise of democracy and equality under the law for all its citizens,” said George Laws García, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council.
“For over a century the current territory status has robbed the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico of the opportunity to have full voting rights and representation in the federal government that makes the laws that they live under. It has also denied equal treatment under federal laws trapping the island in economic underdevelopment and pushing two thirds of Puerto Ricans to move stateside. So, it should come as no surprise that Puerto Rico’s voters rejected territory status in 2012, 2017 and again in 2020, favoring equality and full democracy under statehood each time,” added Laws García.
“This more than century long denial of equality and democracy has not only hurt Puerto Rico but America as a whole, which is why Congress must respond to the lawful petition of our fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico by extending them an offer of statehood. That is exactly what the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act does. The fact that it counts on support from both Republicans and Democrats, shows that Puerto Rico statehood is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue. We call on all members of Congress to respect the will of the majority of Puerto Rico’s voters by supporting and passing the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act,” concluded Laws García.
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The Puerto Rico Statehood Council is a Washington, D.C. based, non-partisan, 501(c)4 non-profit issue advocacy organization. We are dedicated to advancing the goal of equality for the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico through statehood.