[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 140 (Friday, September 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 75--RELATING TO THE COMMONWEALTH OPTION IN 
                              PUERTO RICO

  Mr. SIMON submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

                            S. Con. Res. 75

       Whereas the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 
     enacted legislation to allow the people of Puerto Rico to 
     express, through a plebiscite, their preference regarding the 
     nature of the future relationship between Puerto Rico and the 
     United States;
       Whereas the plebiscite ballot contained the status options 
     of statehood, commonwealth, and independence, as defined by 
     the three principal political parties of Puerto Rico;
       Whereas, in the plebiscite of November 14, 1993, 48.6 
     percent of the people of Puerto Rico voted for commonwealth 
     status, 46.3 percent voted for statehood status, and 4.4 
     percent voted for independence;
       Whereas the commonwealth status option presented to the 
     Puerto Rico electorate on November 14, 1993, proposed 
     significant changes to the current relationship between 
     Puerto Rico and the United States, including--
       (1) the execution of a bilateral pact between Puerto Rico 
     and the United States that would be unalterable, except by 
     mutual consent;
       (2) permanent union between Puerto Rico and the United 
     States;
       (3) the extension of supplemental security income (SSI) 
     under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et 
     seq.) to citizens of Puerto Rico; and
       (4) equality between Puerto Rico and the States regarding 
     food stamp allocations under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
     U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);
       Whereas the commonwealth status option presented to the 
     Puerto Rico electorate on November 14, 1993, stated that 
     commonwealth status would guarantee--
       (1) irrevocable United States citizenship;
       (2) Puerto Rico fiscal autonomy; and
       (3) a common market, common currency, and common defense 
     with the United States;
       Whereas the legislature of Puerto Rico passed a concurrent 
     resolution asking that the Congress make a statement 
     concerning the viability of the commonwealth ballot formula 
     presented to the people of Puerto Rico in the plebiscite of 
     November 14, 1993;
       Whereas the Congress holds great respect for Puerto Ricans 
     as citizens of the United States; and
       Whereas it is incumbent upon the Congress to express the 
     sense of the Congress concerning the viability of the 
     elements of the commonwealth formula proposed in the November 
     14, 1993, plebiscite: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the changes to the political relationship between 
     Puerto Rico and the United States that are described in the 
     option of the Puerto Rico plebiscite of November 14, 1993, 
     known as the commonwealth option would provide to United 
     States citizens who are residents of Puerto Rico the Federal 
     benefits of United States citizens living in the States 
     without the concomitant responsibilities;
       (2) the commonwealth formula presented in the Puerto Rican 
     plebiscite of November 14, 1993, is not an economically or 
     politically viable alternative to the current self-governing, 
     unincorporated territorial status of the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico; and
       (3) the unalterable bilateral pact that such commonwealth 
     formula proposes as the vehicle for the permanent union of 
     Puerto Rico with the United States is not a constitutionally 
     viable alternative to the current self-governing, 
     unincorporated territorial status of the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico.

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, on July 4, 1994, the legislative 
assembly enacted a concurrent resolution asking the U.S. Congress to 
address the viability of the commonwealth option voted on by the people 
of Puerto Rico during the November 14, 1993, plebiscite. I am pleased 
to join my friend Congressman Don Young of Alaska in a bipartisan, 
bicameral effort to respond to the request of the Puerto Rican 
legislature. Along with Congressman Young, I am submitting a concurrent 
resolution of the U.S. Congress regarding the commonwealth option 
presented in November 14, 1994 plebiscite.
  The need for such a concurrent resolution must be considered in the 
context of the procedures governing the Puerto Rican plebiscite. In the 
interests of comity, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico permitted 
each of the three political parties represented in the plebiscite--the 
Statehood Party, the Commonwealth Party, and the Independence Party--to 
draw up its own definition of its status option for inclusion on the 
plebiscite ballot. This attempt to be fair, however, led to the 
formulation and appearance of completely unrealistic status options on 
the November 14 ballot.
  The Commonwealth Party in Puerto Rico presented Puerto Rico's 
citizens with a series of vain promises regarding the island's future 
relationship with the United States. The Commonwealth Party promised, 
among other things, that future Puerto Rico-U.S. relations would be 
governed by a bilateral pact that would be unalterable except by mutual 
consent; that supplemental security income benefits and food stamps 
would be made available to Puerto Ricans on a par with citizens of the 
50 states; that Puerto Rican fiscal autonomy would be preserved; and 
that Puerto Rico would be guaranteed a common market, defense, and 
currency with the United States. In short, the Commonwealth Party 
promised Puerto Ricans many of the benefits of full incorporation with 
the United States without any of the concomitant responsibilities, and 
proposed a form of association with the United States that is 
inconsistent with Constitutional principles.
  Not surprisingly, a plurality of Puerto Ricans--48.6 percent--voted 
for the Commonwealth package of benefits, although to the credit of the 
Puerto Rican people, a combined majority of pro-statehood and pro-
independence voters expressed approval for packages that combined 
benefits and responsibilities equally. Indeed, it is important to note 
that, for the first time since its establishment in 1952, the 
commonwealth status option failed to receive a majority of support from 
the Puerto Rican electorate.
  In light of the continued uncertainty regarding the Puerto Rican 
plebiscite and what it means for the future, it is incumbent on the 
U.S. Congress to heed the call of the Puerto Rican Legislature and 
express its opinion regarding the viability of the commonwealth 
plebiscite formula. If, as I believe, this formula was neither 
politically, economically, nor constitutionally viable, the people of 
Puerto Rico must be given this signal, so that they may promptly choose 
a path of association that is both realistic and consistent with 
constitutional principles.
  While it is unfortunate that the voters of Puerto Rico faced inflated 
and unrealistic expectations in the November 14, 1993 plebiscite, the 
Congress of the United States can now set the record straight, so that 
Puerto Rico may continue without undue delay to find a viable 
constitutional option to its current self-governing, unincorporated 
territorial status.

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