[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PUERTO RICO DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2499) to 
     provide for a federally sanctioned self-determination process 
     for the people of Puerto Rico:

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Chairman, I stand in opposition to H.R. 2499, the 
Puerto Rico Democracy Act. I believe that H.R. 2499 will lead to a 
situation where the government of Puerto Rico could demand recognition 
as the 51st state in the Union despite the will of the Puerto Rican 
people. This bill represents the fourth time since 1991 that Puerto 
Ricans have been asked to vote on their status, and all four times they 
have rejected statehood as their desired political status. The two-step 
voting process contained in this bill will skew the results in favor of 
a minority of the people who support statehood, and drown out the 
voices of the majority who do not.
  I am also deeply troubled by the provision in the bill that would 
allow anyone born in Puerto Rico, but not currently residing there, to 
vote in this plebiscite. With hundreds of thousands of people born in 
Puerto Rico, but not residing there, I believe this aspect of the bill 
dilutes the voices of Puerto Rican residents and again sets the stage 
for a skewed result supporting statehood.
  Finally, I believe that as a condition of possible statehood, Puerto 
Rico must officially adopt English as its primary language. It is 
currently officially a bilingual territory, where only 1 in 5 people 
speak English fluently. The last states admitted to the Union, Alaska 
and Hawaii, both adopted English as their official language and, 
although they respect the culture and language of their native 
population, the vast majority of their populations are fluent in 
English.
  For these reasons, I cannot vote to support H.R. 2499 or the Burton/
Young Amendment, which does not adequately ensure that English would be 
the official language of Puerto Rico.

                          ____________________