[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 126 (Thursday, October 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1825-E1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     POLITICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN PUERTO RICO AND THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ANIBAL ACEVEDO-VILA

                             of puerto rico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 6, 2004

  Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA. Mr. Speaker, the political status of Puerto Rico, 
and its relationship with the United States, is of great importance to 
the people of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has enjoyed Commonwealth status 
since 1952. One of the virtues of Commonwealth is precisely the fact 
that it possesses the flexibility to change the political status of 
Puerto Rico vis-a-vis the U.S., either within the framework of 
Commonwealth, or if the people choose other status options such as 
Statehood or Independence. Of course, Puerto Rico would work with the 
U.S. Congress towards implementing whichever option the people choose.
  Since its creation, Commonwealth has been the preferred status option 
among the people of Puerto Rico. However, the people of Puerto Rico 
have failed in its previous efforts to improve Commonwealth because the 
different initiatives in Puerto Rico, as well as in this Congress, to 
deal with the status issue have not translated into concrete actions to 
implement the will of the people of Puerto Rico. Experience has shown 
that in order to have a true exercise of self-determination, we must 
work hard at achieving consensus among the people of Puerto Rico as to 
the process towards self-determination, in spite of our differences 
with regard to individual status preferences.
  Hence, the Legislature of Puerto Rico approved Senate Concurrent 
Resolution 107 on July 22, 2004 which sets forth the public policy of 
said body that a Constitutional Assembly on Status is the preferred 
approach through which to exercise self-determination concerning the 
status of Puerto Rico and acknowledges these past failed attempts to 
deal with the status issue, recognizes the consensus among the people 
of Puerto Rico to effectively exercise their right to self-
determination, and adopts the public policy that the Constitutional 
Assembly on Status is the best approach through which to exercise self-
determination.
  Accordingly, the Legislature of Puerto Rico has agreed to study and 
prepare legislation for the people to decide whether the Constitutional 
Assembly on Status is their preferred mechanism to deal with the status 
issue. Other mechanisms will be presented to the people. Thus the 
people will ultimately choose their preferred process. The legislation 
will also include the mechanisms through which delegates to the 
Assembly are elected, and will provide for its organization, if it is 
the option favored by voters.
  At the same time, Senate Concurrent Resolution 107 orders the Puerto 
Rico Senate and

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House Judiciary Committees to prepare a study and report with bills for 
the celebration of a referendum regarding the Constitutional Assembly, 
authorization of funds, and related matters. Such bills would guarantee 
the effective participation of representatives of the political parties 
and civil society; that the proposals to be considered by the people 
must stem from the principle of sovereignty in the future relationship 
of Puerto Rico and must be defined as being outside of the Territorial 
Clause of the U.S. Constitution; that the Constitutional Assembly must 
have attributes of deliberation and negotiation vis-a-vis the U.S. 
Government; and that every determination by the Assembly must be 
subject to ratification by the people through a referendum. The 
Committees shall issue its report by December 31, 2004, and it will 
thus be submitted for the consideration of the next Legislative 
Session.
  Mr. Speaker, the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and I 
personally support the creation of a Constitutional Assembly on Status 
in order to deal with the status issue because it embodies the 
principle that it is the people of Puerto Rico who must decide their 
preferred political status, and that the process should be initiated in 
Puerto Rico. Therefore, we have made a commitment to initiate this 
process during the first half of 2005. At the same time, we recognize 
that even though this process is to be initiated in Puerto Rico, it 
cannot and should not be isolated from Washington. That is why, early 
in the process, Senate Concurrent Resolution 107 mandates notifying the 
White House, the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status and the 
U.S. Congress of said Resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to, as requested by the Puerto Rico 
Legislature and in compliance with Article 6 of Senate Concurrent 
Resolution 107, notify this Congress of said Resolution by placing the 
English-language translation of Senate Concurrent Resolution 107, along 
with its certification, into the Record at this time. I am also sending 
a copy of Senate Concurrent Resolution, and its certification, to the 
U.S. Senate, the President of the United States, the President's Task 
Force on Puerto Rico's Status, and the United Nations' Special 
Committee on Decolonization.
  Mr. Speaker, I am confident that the people of Puerto Rico will soon 
be able to truly exercise their right to self-determination in a 
meaningful manner, one in which the outcome will be a product of the 
democratic tradition we so dearly cherish.

                       Concurrent Resolution 107

  (To consign the public policy of the Legislature of Puerto Rico in 
    facing and attending to the urgent need to review the political 
     relations between Puerto Rico and the United States through a 
Constitutional Assembly on Status elected by the people in the exercise 
  of the natural right to self-determination and sovereignty, and to 
                  initiate its organizational process)


                          STATEMENT OF MOTIVES

       The right of the People to freely choose their system of 
     government and their political destiny in relation to the 
     other countries is an inalienable natural right: neither can 
     legislation contrary to this right be admitted nor can a 
     regime or legislation contrary to the full exercise of this 
     right be admitted. This is thus consigned in several 
     resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations 
     Organization applicable to Puerto Rico.
       The regime of the political relations between Puerto Rico 
     and the United States of America remained subject for future 
     deliberation since the conclusion of the deliberations of the 
     Constitutional Convention on the political status of the 
     People of Puerto Rico in 1952, which drafted the Constitution 
     of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This by virtue of Public 
     Law 600 of the 81st Congress of the United States of 1950, 
     adopted in a referendum held in Puerto Rico, which limited 
     the deliberative and governmental framework of the 
     Constitutional Convention from 1951 to 1952.
       The Constitutional Convention of 1952 expressed through 
     Resolution No. 23 that: ``The People of Puerto Rico reserve 
     the right to propose and accept modifications in the terms of 
     its relations with the United States of America, in order 
     that these relations may at all times be the expression of an 
     agreement freely entered into between the People of Puerto 
     Rico and the United States of America.'' (Enacted February 4, 
     1952, and forwarded to the President of the United States).
       This expression, based on a natural and constitutional 
     right and of the highest democratic nature, was subsequently 
     incorporated by the General Assembly of the United Nations 
     Organization in its Resolution 748 (VIII) of November, 1953, 
     regarding the documents submitted by the United States 
     Government on the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto 
     Rico. It is thus stated in its ninth enabling paragraph where 
     it is expressed, ``its assurance that, in accordance with the 
     spirit of the present Resolution... due regard will be paid 
     to the will of both the Puerto Rican and American peoples ... 
     in the eventuality that either of the parties to the mutually 
     agreed association may desire any change in the terms of this 
     association.''
       Since the effectiveness of the present status of political 
     relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, 
     untiring efforts have been made to review the political 
     status issue of Puerto Rico and the scope of the relationship 
     with the United States of America. Specifically, in 1967, a 
     consultation process of the people was held in which the 
     majority of the participants reaffirmed their support to the 
     Commonwealth option, and subsequently, in 1993, a second 
     plebiscite was held, and once again the Commonwealth option 
     was favored. Finally, in 1998, a new plebiscite was held in 
     which the Legislature of Puerto Rico, and not the political 
     parties or the representative groups of specific ideologies, 
     defined the status options to be presented to the people. In 
     said plebiscite, the ``None of the Above'' option was 
     favored.
       Likewise, in the past fifty-two years several efforts have 
     been made to have the United States Congress enact 
     legislation that would allow further the discussion of this 
     issue. Specifically, we take notice of the efforts made 
     through the Status Commission during the decades of the 60s 
     and 70s; and from 1989 to 1991 by the U.S. Senate Resources 
     Committee, and in the mid 90s, by the U.S. House of 
     Representatives Resources Committee. None of these efforts 
     was able to produce legislation that would effectively attend 
     the discussion of status.
       Having repeatedly approached through decades diverse 
     methods, the Legislature of Puerto Rico, exercising its 
     powers and faculties pursuant to the Constitution of the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, proposes a consultation of the 
     people so that they may determine the procedural mechanism 
     they deem proper to deal with the issue of the political 
     status of Puerto Rico, and the scope of the relationship with 
     the United States of America. In this referendum a 
     constitutional assembly will be presented as an alternative.
       More than fifty years have elapsed since the establishment 
     of the present status, and considering the manifest 
     expressions of all representative sectors of the country on 
     the need to make changes to the present relationship, it is 
     proper for this Legislature to consult the people in order to 
     initiate the process to elect an adequate mechanism to deal 
     with the political status of Puerto Rico and its relationship 
     with the United States of America: be it
       Resolved by the Legislature of Puerto Rico:


                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

       Section 1.--Statement of Public Policy.
       It is hereby declared that the People of Puerto Rico have 
     the inalienable natural right to self-determination and 
     political sovereignty. In accordance thereto, this 
     Legislature declares that, upon the failure of several 
     processes for the exercise of this right, it is imperative 
     for the people to exercise the same through a Constitutional 
     Assembly on the status of the relationship between Puerto 
     Rico and the United States of America.
       Section 2.--The Legislature acknowledges the Report 
     rendered on March 11, 2002, as directed by Senate Resolution 
     201 and House Resolution 3873, both recommending the 
     mechanism of an Assembly of the People to consider the status 
     issue.
       Section 3.--It is proper to study and draft the legislation 
     for the people to decide on the desirability of calling a 
     Constitutional Assembly on Status. The legislation shall 
     include the mechanisms to implement the election of delegates 
     and the organization of the Constitutional Assembly on 
     Status, if it is favored at the polls.
       Section 4.--The Committee on the Judiciary of both Bodies 
     shall prepare a study and report which shall contain projects 
     of law for holding a referendum on the calling of said 
     Constitutional Assembly, appropriation of funds, and every 
     other measure or process needed to implement this public 
     policy. The following shall be assured:
       (a) The effective participation of the representatives of 
     the political parties and the civil society.
       (b) That the proposals to be submitted to the consideration 
     of the people arise from the principle of sovereignty in the 
     future political relationships of Puerto Rico, and be as such 
     defined outside of the territorial clause of the Constitution 
     of the United States of America.
       (c) That the Assembly shall enjoy deliberative and 
     negotiation attributes with the United States Government.
       (d) That every determination of the Assembly shall be 
     subject to ratification by the people at a referendum.
       Section 5.--The Committee shall render its report before 
     December 31, 2004, and thereby be submitted for the 
     consideration of the next Regular Legislature.
       Section 6.--A copy of this Concurrent Resolution, together 
     with the results of the vote for its approval, shall be 
     certified by the Office of the Secretary and of the Clerk of 
     both Chambers, and remitted to the Special Decolonization 
     Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, to the 
     White House Interagency Committee on the Status of Puerto 
     Rico, and to the Congress of the United States of America.
       Section 7.--This Concurrent Resolution shall take effect 
     upon its approval and constitutes public policy until its 
     repeal or implemented.

        I, Jose Ariel Nazario-Alvarez, Secretary of the Senate of 
     the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, hereby certify that the 
     enclosed document is a true and exact copy of S. Conc. R. 107 
     approved on July 22 of 2004.

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