[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2020 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2020

 To set forth the process for Puerto Rico to be admitted as a State of 
                               the Union.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2014

Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To set forth the process for Puerto Rico to be admitted as a State of 
                               the Union.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--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) Purposes.--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.

SEC. 3. RATIFICATION VOTE.

    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__''.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Presidential Action.--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) Legislative Action.--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.
                                 <all>