[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 74 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3834-S3835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUERTO RICO
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, it is important for the United States to
continue its efforts to promote a close relationship with Puerto Rico
and its citizens. That includes supporting a fair and democratic
process for Puerto Ricans on the perennial and controversial issue of
statehood.
I commend Puerto Rico's new Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla on his
work to tackle the current challenges facing the island, particularly
on the economic front. Congress has long supported reciprocity between
Puerto Rico and the United States, with very positive results. When the
Puerto Rican economy flourishes, trade with the United States
increases, helping promote job creation here at home.
I am disappointed the most recent budget proposal submitted to
Congress by the White House recommends $2.5 million in fiscal year 2014
to conduct yet another referendum on Puerto Rico's political status.
Allocating U.S. taxpayer dollars for this purpose is wasteful and
unnecessary, since a plebiscite was just held in Puerto Rico last
November on this very question.
The vote on Election Day specifically called for Puerto Ricans to
express their views on the island's political status. Its backers
sought to show that popular support exists for turning Puerto Rico into
a State. But it is widely acknowledged that the ballot was not
developed in a fair and inclusive manner. It instead presented
statehood alternatives with a predetermined result in mind, to force
Puerto Ricans toward an option they have rejected time and again, and
to stack the deck in favor of statehood.
The first part of the ballot asked whether or not Puerto Rican voters
wanted to continue their territorial status. The second portion then
provided three different non-territorial alternatives: statehood,
sovereign free associated state, or independence. Keeping the island's
current Commonwealth status was not even listed as an option in the
second round.
As expected, a slim majority--nearly 51.7 percent of the 1.9 million
who voted--opted for changing the current status. However, in response
to the second question, 834,191 voters chose statehood, 498,604 left
the second question blank, 454,768 selected sovereign free associated
state, and 74,895 favored independence. Any way you slice it,
1,028,267--or nearly 55 percent--of the Puerto Ricans who traveled to
the polls voted for options other than statehood.
As Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, the first woman of Puerto Rican
heritage elected to the United States House of Representatives,
correctly pointed out: ``Casting a blank ballot is part of traditional
form of objecting to an unfair process in Puerto Rican political
history.'' In accordance with this tradition, the Commonwealth Party in
Puerto Rico adopted a resolution calling on Puerto Rican voters to
protest last November's plebiscite process by casting blank ballots.
When you include the nearly half a million voters who left the second
question on the ballot blank, it is clear--despite the claims of some
statehood proponents--that a majority of voters do not support
statehood for Puerto Rico. In fact, more than 1 million, or nearly 55
percent, of Puerto Rican voters who participated in the plebiscite
actually demonstrated support for something other than statehood.
A concurrent resolution was adopted last week by the legislature in
Puerto Rico stating that the plebiscite on November 6, 2012, portrayed
a false majority in favor of statehood and prevented an accurate vote
on the option of Commonwealth status. I ask unanimous consent to insert
into the Record the text of that resolution.
The Senate and The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO
THE CAPITOL
We, EDUARDO BHATIA-GAUTIER, President of the Senate, and
JAIME R. PERELLO-BORRAS, Speaker of the House of
Representatives,
CERTIFY
That the Senate of Puerto Rico and the House of
Representatives of Puerto Rico approved in final vote Senate
Concurrent Resolution No. 24, introduced by Messrs. Nadal-
Power and Rosa-Rodriguez and Co-sponsors Messrs. Fas-
Alzamora, Tirado-Rivera, Bhatia-Gautier, Dalmau-Santiago,
Torres-Torres; Mmes. Lopez-Leon, Gonzalez-Lopez; Messrs.
Nieves-Perez, Pereira-Castillo, Rivera-Filomeno, Rodriguez-
Gonzalez, Rodriguez-Otero, Rodriguez-Valle, Ruiz-Nieves,
Suarez-Caceres, and Vargas-Morales and that the same reads as
follows:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To inform the President and the Congress of the United
States about the results of the plebiscite held on November
6, 2012, and support the request of the President of the
United States of America for the Congress to appropriate $2.5
million to the State Elections Commission for a federally-
sponsored plebiscite after conducting the appropriate voter
education campaign, which incorporates all options, including
the enhanced Commonwealth, based on the principles of
fairness and equality; to authorize the disbursement of
funds; and for other purposes.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
On November 6, 2012 a plebiscite was held in Puerto Rico
along with the general elections. The results of such
plebiscite were inconclusive because none of the options on
Puerto Rico's political status that received a majority of
votes. Said plebiscite consisted of two separate questions,
formulated by the preceding pro-statehood government
administration, which favored statehood for Puerto Rico, in
order to portray a false majority in favor of statehood and
prevent such formula from competing against the Commonwealth
option that had been favored by the people of Puerto Rico in
all previously-held plebiscites.
The results were the following: the first question asked
voters whether or not Puerto Rico should maintain its current
form of political status. Nine hundred seventy thousand nine
hundred ten (970,910), that is, fifty-one point seven percent
(51.7%) of the people voted ``NO''; whereas eight hundred
twenty-eight thousand seventy-seven (828,077), that is,
forty-four point one percent (44.1%) of the people voted
``YES.'' However, a total of sixty-seven thousand two hundred
sixty-seven (67,267) voters cast a blank ballot, which
accounted for three point six percent (3.6%) of voters.
The second question asked voters to choose from options
that excluded the current political status. Statehood
received eight hundred thirty-four thousand one hundred
ninety-one (834,191), or forty-four point four percent
(44.4%) of the votes cast; sovereign free associated state
received four hundred fifty-four thousand seven hundred
sixty-eight (454,708), or twenty four point three percent
(24.3%) of the votes cast; and independence received seventy
four thousand eight hundred ninety-five (74,895), or four
percent (4) of the votes cast. However, such question
received a total of four hundred ninety-eight thousand six
hundred four (498,604)blank votes, which accounted for
twenty-six point live percent (26.5%) of the votes cast.
These results should not surprise us, since the preceding
Legislative Assembly approved the
[[Page S3835]]
plebiscite disregarding the procedural and substantive
consensuses required to legitimize any plebiscite held.
The Party that supported the Commonwealth option, which was
the political opposition at the time, objected this process.
It also argued that the process was contrary to the
provisions of H.R. 2499, as amended, approved by the United
States House of Representatives, which included the
Commonwealth among the options in the second question.
Moreover, it stated that the process had been criticized by
the White House because it was designed with the intent to
conceal the true expression of the people of Puerto Rico.
Commonwealth supporters employed two methods to express
their opposition. On the one hand, the Governing Board of the
Party supporting the Commonwealth option adopted a resolution
asking voters to protest the process by casting a blank
ballot, On the other hand, a significant number of pro-
Commonwealth leaders openly conducted campaigns in favor of
the Sovereign Free Associated State option.
There is no doubt that the voters who wish to express their
dissatisfaction with the proposals or the candidates in the
ballot, traditionally do so by spoiling their ballots,
casting a blank ballot, or voting for a fictional character.
If the United States Congress wishes to know the amount of
Puerto Rican voters against statehood for Puerto Rico, the
blank ballots should be taken into account because such votes
clearly express the intent of voters against statehood. Thus,
it should be understood that votes cast in favor of statehood
did not exceed forty-four point four percent (44.4%), which
shows a two percent (2%) decrease in the historical peak it
achieved in 1998. In other words, fifty-five point six
percent (55.6%) of Puerto Rican voters rejected statehood in
the 2012 plebiscite.
Previously, in 1998, the pro-statehood party had also
designed a unilateral and exclusionary plebiscite;
nonetheless, voters had the option to vote for ``None of the
Above.'' The ``None of the Above'' option received fifty
point three percent (50.3%) of the votes cast, followed by
Statehood and Independence, which received forty-six point
five percent (46.5%) and two point five percent (2.5%) of the
votes cast, respectively. The results of the 1998 plebiscite
were consistent with those of the 1993 plebiscite, in which
the Commonwealth option received forty-eight point six
percent (48.6%) of the votes cast, whereas Statehood and
Independence received forty-six point three percent (46.3%)
and four point four percent (4.4%) of the votes cast,
respectively. The only other event of this kind held since
the establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952,
took place in 1967. In the 1967 plebiscite, the Commonwealth
received sixty point three percent (60.3%) of the votes cast,
while Statehood received thirty-nine percent (39%).
Unfortunately, the preceding government administration in
Puerto Rico, whose term ended in December 2012, failed to
sponsor a process that would include the recommendations of
the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status appointed
by President Barack Obama. Such Task Force proposed--on a
Report released in March 2011--various methods to ask Puerto
Ricans about their political status in a manner that is fair
for the supporters of all options. Furthermore, it also
failed to address the issue of Puerto Rico's political status
in an inclusive and responsible manner,
On April 10, 2013, President Barack Obama included in the
budget proposal for the fiscal year 2014, an appropriation of
$2.5 million to the State Elections Commission in order to
conduct a voter education campaign and a plebiscite which
would include all constitutionally viable status options. The
action taken by the President of the United States shows that
the plebiscite designed by the preceding government
administration lacks legitimacy or credibility before the
government of the United States of America.
In light of the history of imposed and exclusionary
plebiscites that only attest to our people's division with
regard to this issue, it is necessary to inform the President
and the Congress of the United States about the true results
of the plebiscite held on November 6, 2012.
Be it resolved by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico:
Section 1.--To inform the President and the Congress of the
United States about the results of the plebiscite held on
November 6, 2012, and support the request of the President of
the United States of America for the Congress to appropriate
$2.5 million to the State Elections Commission for a
federally-sponsored plebiscite, after conducting the
appropriate voter education campaign, which incorporates all
options, including the enhanced Commonwealth, based on the
principles of fairness and equality; to authorize the
disbursement of funds; and for other purposes.
Section 2.--The results of the 2012 plebiscite were the
following: in the first question, which asked voters whether
or not Puerto Rico should continue to have its current form
of political status, the ``NO'' option received fifty-three
point nine percent (53.9%) of the votes cast, whereas the
``YES'' option received forty-six percent (46%). The results
of the second question, which asked voters to choose from the
options that did not included the current status, were the
following: the statehood option received forty-four point
four percent (44.4%) of the votes cast (834,191); the
``sovereign free associated state'' received twenty-four
point three percent (24.3%) of the votes east (454,768); the
independence option received four percent (4%) of the votes
cast (74,895), and blank ballots accounted for twenty-six
point five percent (26.5%) of the votes cast (498,604).
Section 3.--The foregoing shows that the representations
made before the United States Congress stating that the
statehood option was favored by the majority of Puerto
Ricans, does not accurately reflect the results of the
plebiscite on Puerto Rico's status held on November 6, 2012.
Section 4.--A copy of this Concurrent Resolution shall be
delivered to the President, the Vice President, and the
Secretary of State of the United States, to all the Members
of the 113th United States Congress, as well as to all
pertinent government and nongovernmental organizations, human
rights organizations, and the local, national, and
international media, among others.
Section 5.--A certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution
shall be translated into English and delivered by the
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives of Puerto Rico to the members of the United
States Congress.
Section 6.--This Concurrent Resolution shall take effect
immediately after its approval.
In witness whereof we hereunto sign and affix the Seal of
the Senate and the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.
Issued this Tuesday, 14th of May of 2013, at our offices at
the Capitol Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Eduardo Bhatia-Gautier,
President of Senate.
Jaime R. Perello-Borras,
Speaker of House of Representatives.
____________________