Cosponsors of the Puerto Rico Status Act

on February 5, 2024

The Puerto Rico Status Act offers Puerto Rico a choice among the constitutionally viable political status options: statehood and independence with or without free association. The bill would end the colonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, which is at present an unincorporated territory of the United States. Under this bill, which passed the House in 2022 and is currently under consideration in the House with a companion bill in the Senate. Puerto Rico would have one more plebiscite and Congress would take action on the results of that vote.

The bill currently has 93 cosponsors:

Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2]
Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]
Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [D-GA-2]
Bowman, Jamaal [D-NY-16]
Casten, Sean [D-IL-6]
Carson, Andre [D-IN-7]
Cartwright, Matt [D-PA-8]
Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]
Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]
Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46]
Cárdenas, Tony [D-CA-29]
Case, Ed [D-HI-1]
Chavez-DeRemer, Lori [R-OR-5]
Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3]
Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4]
DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1]
Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37]
Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16]
Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-16]
Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ-3]
Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29]
Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34]
Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34]
González-Colón, Jenniffer [R-PR-At Large]*
Green, Al [D-TX-9]
Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]
Huizenga, Bill [R-MI-4]
Hoyer, Steny H. [D-MD-5]
Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4]
Johnson, Henry C. “Hank,” Jr. [D-GA-4]
Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]
Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2]
Kim, Andy [D-NJ-3]
Larson, John B. [D-CT-1]
Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
Lee, Barbara [D-CA-12]
Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3]
Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18]
Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8]
Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2]
Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11]
McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]
McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]
McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]
Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15]
Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12]
Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-31]
Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]
Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]
Payne, Donald M., Jr. [D-NJ-10]
Peltola, Mary Sattler [D-AK-At Large]
Posey, Bill [R-FL-8]
Porter, Katie [D-CA-47]
Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
Radewagen, Aumua Amata Coleman [R-AS-At Large]
Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho [D-MP-At Large]
Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27]

These people represent 31 states and territories. 81 are Democrats and 12 are Republicans. Most of the bills passed in Congress have bipartisan support, so it is good news that this bill has cosponsors from both political parties.

If your representative is on the list…

The list above is alphabetical. Check the name of your congressperson. If they cosponsored the bill, this is a great time to thank them for doing so. When they know that their constituents care about an issue, they are likely to support that issue.

If your representative is not on the list…

Contact your representative right away and ask them to get on the right side of history by cosponsoring this important bill. Congress has many important issues to consider, and Puerto Rico has very limited representation in Congress. Voting members of Congress will only take action on issues their constituents care about. Because of this, it is essential that people living in states make sure that their representatives know that the question of equality and justice for Puerto Rico is important to the voters.

Resident commissioner Rep. Jorge Luis Cordova Diaz said, in a hearing in 1946, “If we can develop the feeling of the people in the United States…we can obtain the majority of members of Congress for statehood.” Ten years ago, most U.S. citizens living on the mainland didn’t even realize that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens. Now, the majority favor statehood for Puerto Rico. Congress needs to learn that this is true. You can help.