“After several months of working with our colleagues in the House & receiving feedback from community members,” the House Committee on Natural Resources announced yesterday, “we are proud to announce an agreement to introduce the Puerto Rico Status Act.”
The Puerto Rico Status Act is a compromise bill incorporating arts of both HR 1522 and HR 2070 into a law that calls for a seventh status vote for Puerto Rico. The vote would offer a choice among three options:
- Statehood
- Independence
- Free association
The bill calls for voter education on all three options. It does not allow the ballot to include the current territorial status. If the bill passes the House and Senate and is signed into law by President Biden, Puerto Rico will not continue to be a territory of the United States, its current status.
The committee has been working for months to come up with a plan that both parties can support. A public hearing was held in San Juan and a web page has allowed everyone to comment. Now, the members of the committee hope to get a vote in the House before the recess begins on July 29, 2022.
Changes
A statement from Reps Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon, Raul Grijalva, Darren Soto, and Nydia Velazquez said, “This legislation establishes a path towards the decolonization of Puerto Rico by providing its residents with the opportunity to select between three non-territorial and fully autonomous political status options: Statehood, Independence and Sovereignty in Free Association with the United States. This historic proposal unites stakeholders from all sides of the status debate to present a democratic process to resolve the political status of Puerto Rico that Congress will sponsor and respect.”
El Nuevo Dia added more information, reporting that the revised draft provided more clarity on the citizenship question, on taxes, and on federal contributions to the Island.
The new version of the bill is to be filed in the House this week, and will be published in English and Spanish.
One response
Brothers and Sisters that left the Island for a better opportunity Now more than ever we need you involved in this upcoming most important vote in the Island November 5, 2023 to vote for Statehood to become the 51st state of the United States because finally all the votes and the pressure added to the US Congress has finally payed off. We need to set our goal for this final vote for statehood for Puerto Rico to be 90% so that this issue with Puerto Rico as the last colony comes to an end because this time this vote will be a binding vote. Brothers and Sisters this is our best opportunity to get this right and for ones and for all to become the 51st state of the United States with the same equal rights as the rest of the 50 states and benefits because Porto Ricans have sacrificed too much in a 124 years for our Great Nation USA and it is time for all of us to eliminate all the negative history and fast forward to the 21st century. May God Continue To Bless America and Puerto Rico.