113 S2020 IS: Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act
U.S. Senate
2014-02-12
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as the
Puerto Rico Status Resolution
Act
.
2.
(a)
Congress
finds that—
(1)
in 1898, Puerto Rico became a United States
territory and persons born in Puerto Rico have been granted United States
citizenship by law since March 2, 1917;
(2)
Puerto Rico has been granted authority over
local matters that is similar to the authority that the several States
possess,
but Puerto Rico remains subject to the powers of Congress under the
Territory
Clause of the Constitution of the United States;
(3)
the approximately 3,700,000 residents of
Puerto Rico do not have a democratic form of government at the national
level,
because—(A)United States citizens residing in the territory—(i)are
disenfranchised in
the election for the President and the Vice President; and(ii)are
not represented in the United States Senate; and(B)the 1 representative
of United States citizens residing in the territory in
the House of Representatives can only vote in committees of
the
House of Representatives;
(4)
the Federal
Government may, and often does, treat Puerto Rico and residents
of Puerto Rico unequally
under Federal program, tax, and other laws relative to the several States
and
the District of Columbia and residents;
(5)(A)
on November 6, 2012, the Government of
Puerto Rico held a 2-part referendum;(B)the first question asked voters if
Puerto Rico should continue to have its present form of territorial
status
; and(C)of the 1,798,987 voters who chose an option, 53.97 percent
voted against continued territorial status;
(6)(A)
the second
question asked voters to express their preference among the 3 possible
alternatives to territorial status: statehood, independence, and
nationhood in
free association with the United States; and(B)of the 1,363,854 voters who chose
an
option, 61.16 percent voted for statehood; and
(7)
the number of
votes cast in favor of statehood exceeded the number of votes cast in
favor of
continued territorial status.
(b)
The purposes of this Act are—(1)to provide for a
federally authorized ratification vote in Puerto Rico on the admission of
Puerto Rico into the Union as a State; and(2)if a majority of voters ratify
the desire of Puerto Rico for statehood, to describe the steps that the
President
and Congress shall take to enable the admission of Puerto Rico as a State
of
the Union.
3.
The State Elections
Commission of Puerto Rico is authorized to provide for a ratification vote
on
the admission of Puerto Rico into the Union as a State, in accordance with
rules and regulations determined by the Commission, including
qualifications
for voter eligibility, with the following on the ballot:
As a
State:
(A)
Puerto Rico would be permanently united to
the other States of the Union.
(B)
All provisions of the Constitution of the
United States that apply to the States would apply to Puerto Rico.
(C)
Individuals born
in Puerto Rico would be United States citizens by virtue of the
Constitution of
the United States, instead of by virtue of laws of the United
States.
(D)
Puerto Rico would
be treated equally with the other States in all Federal laws of
general
application.
(E)
There would be a
period of transition to statehood, during which equal treatment of
Puerto Rico
in program and tax laws would be phased in.
(F)
Puerto Rico would
be represented—(i)in the Senate by 2 Senators;(ii)in the
House of Representatives by a number of Representatives in
proportion to
its share of the national population (and the number of Members of
the House of
Representatives would be increased by the same number); and(iii)for the
election of
the President and the Vice President by a
number of votes
in the Electoral College equal to the number of its Senators and
Representatives.
(G)
The Government of Puerto Rico, like the
governments of the other States, would have permanent authority
over all
matters not delegated to the Federal Government or the people by
the
Constitution of the United States.
Do you
want Puerto Rico to be admitted as a State of the United States?
Yes__
No__.
4.
(a)
If a majority of votes
cast in the ratification vote held under section 3 are for the admission
of
Puerto Rico as a State of the Union, the President, not later than 180
days
after the certification of the vote, shall submit to Congress legislation
to
admit Puerto Rico as a State of the Union on an equal footing with the
several
States in all respects, consistent with the terms of this Act.
(b)
If a majority of votes
cast in the ratification vote held under section 3 are for the admission
of
Puerto Rico as a State of the Union, this Act constitutes a commitment by
Congress to act, through legislation, to admit Puerto Rico as a State of
the
Union on an equal footing with the several States in all respects,
consistent
with the terms of this Act.