Markwayne Mullin is a Republican, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter representing Oklahoma. He writes articles with titles like, “Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal: The Start of Socialism” and “Bring Back Reaganomics.”
Katie Porter is a Democrat from California. She is well known for her support of gun control, women’s rights, and social justice.
What do they have in common? Both are cosponsors of HR 1522, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admissions Bill.
Statehood has bipartisan support
There are currently 61 Democratic cosponsors and 19 Republicans, including Rep. Claudia Tenney. a New York congresswoman who just signed on last week.
From the beginning, statehood has had supporters from both sides of the aisle.
This is because statehood for Puerto Rico is a matter of justice and equality, issues that are near to the heart of every American. This is not a political question so much as it is a question of right and wrong.
After more than a century as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico has no voting representatives in Congress, no vote in presidential elections, and persistent inequality in federal funding. The only path to full equality for Puerto Rico is statehood.
Bipartisan cooperation
According to Quorum, Congress has 30% less bipartisan cooperation now than they had 30 years ago. In 1989, 35% of bills had a cosponsor from the other party. now, it’s rare for bills to have bipartisan support.
Depending on your point of view, this may be a problem or just a fact of political life. But it is certain that Puerto Rico statehood has more bipartisan support than is usual. The current statehood bill was introduced by Rep. Darren Soto of Florida, a Democrat, and Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez of Puerto Rico, a Republican.
You can still find people who believe that Democrats want statehood for Puerto Rico in order to add Democrats to Congress, but they are mistaken. Puerto Rico shows signs of being a purple state.
Whether your representatives in Congress are Democrats or Republicans, please reach out to them and ask them to get behind statehood for Puerto Rico.
It’s the right thing to do.
No responses yet