[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PUERTO RICO

  (Mr. GUTIERREZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I can't vote for the omnibus bill because 
it doesn't give the people of Puerto Rico some hope for a better 
future.
  The omnibus bill does not provide a path forward amid budget cuts, 
cuts in services, growing unemployment, and the greedy banks and 
bondholders who demand more and more, even as the people of Puerto Rico 
have less and less.
  Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. Its sovereignty rests 
here in the Congress of the United States, and we will not do anything 
to help them.
  (English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)

       So tomorrow I tell the people of Puerto Rico, I will be 
     with you.
       I will vote against this omnibus budget because if there 
     are no schools in Puerto Rico, if there is no law enforcement 
     to protect the people on the streets, if there are no doctors 
     or nurses healing the sick, there won't be a vote on this 
     budget until there is justice for the people.
       And I tell every Representative that votes in favor of this 
     budget, you are denying a future for Puerto Rico and you are 
     betraying the people of Puerto Rico.
       Asi que manana le digo al pueblo de Puerto Rico, yo estare 
     con ustedes.
       Votare en contra de este presupuesto porque si no hay 
     escuelas en Puerto Rico, si no hay policias para defender a 
     la gente en la calle, si no hay doctoras o enfermeras para 
     curar a los enfermos, tampoco habra un voto para este 
     presupuesto hasta que haya justicia para el pueblo.
       Y le digo a todo Congresista que vota a favor de este 
     presupuesto, que le niega un futuro a Puerto Rico y le 
     traiciona al pueblo de Puerto Rico.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). The gentleman from 
Illinois will provide a translation for the Record.

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