[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H4019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon) for 5 minutes.
  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Madam Speaker, on June 4, we will 
celebrate 100 years since Congress passed the 19th Amendment, which 
correctly recognized women's right to vote.
  At that time, only one woman had served in Congress: Jeannette 
Rankin, in 1916, from Montana. But today, we have more women serving in 
this Congress than ever before, with 131.
  In this proud moment for both women and our Nation's history, we also 
honor the suffragists who, more than a century ago, paved the way that 
allows women to take part in this democratic process and that also 
allows me to stand here as the first woman elected to represent Puerto 
Rico in Congress.
  Because of our territorial status, Puerto Rico has been historically 
excluded from our national process, including the 19th Amendment 
ratification process.
  Prior to becoming a U.S. territory in 1898, Puerto Rico was a Spanish 
colony, and people on the island advocated for political equality for 
women, beginning with a right to education. But it wasn't long after 
becoming a U.S. territory that Susan B. Anthony advocated for equal 
political and civil rights for men and women in the new possessions, 
including Puerto Rico.

  This advance in civil rights was one of the first reasons why people 
on the island began to fight for the conversion of Puerto Rico as a 
State of the Union.
  It was the leaders of the Republican party who first included women's 
vote as part of their platform, and they also presented legislation to 
achieve it. As the measure did not progress, our suffragists sought 
support from national organizations and the United States Congress, 
which introduced legislation extending women's right to vote in Puerto 
Rico.
  Finally, in 1929, Puerto Rico's Legislature recognized the right to 
vote, but only for literate women; and in 1935, the right to vote was 
granted to all women.
  These series of events led to the election of Maria Luisa Arcelay, 
who became the first woman in Puerto Rico to be elected to a government 
legislative body in 1932.
  However, because Puerto Rico is an incorporated territory of the 
United States, despite being U.S. citizens since 1917, Puerto Ricans 
cannot vote for the U.S. President, and they are also denied voting 
representation in this Congress.
  While this Congress is legislating to extend benefits to all women, I 
must raise my voice many times to advocate for these rights to be 
extended to territories like Puerto Rico that still lack, at a general 
level, full equality in relation to a State.
  Statehood for Puerto Rico will happen. The question is when this 
Congress will do it.
  The end of slavery, the end of segregation, and women's right to vote 
are just examples of civil rights that took a while to become the law 
of the land. Statehood for Puerto Rico will follow.
  We are still fighting for equal pay, for equal work, for being able 
to walk safely without fear of sexual harassment, for eradicating 
gender violence, for having more access to where decisions are made, 
for having more representation in different fields, such as science, 
arts, sports, business, and economics.
  As we rejoice and celebrate progress in equality for women, I ask my 
colleagues to be reminded that their job continues and much more 
remains to be done to achieve equality for all Americans.
  That also includes the veterans of Puerto Rico, veterans that lack 
access to TRICARE Prime options on the island. Instead, only Active 
Duty servicemembers and their family members have access to TRICARE 
Prime, specifically TRICARE Prime Overseas.
  This also affects the access by spouses and dependents to benefits as 
their family member serves our country.
  Current law dictates that military retirees under the age of 65 in 
Puerto Rico and the territories are eligible only for TRICARE Standard.
  That is the reason I filed H.R. 2171, which seeks to rectify this 
problem by making TRICARE Prime available to over 29,000 servicemembers 
in Puerto Rico, who have retired from the Armed Forces, and their 
dependents.
  According to the report by the Congressional Task Force on Economic 
Growth in Puerto Rico, not having access to TRICARE Prime is one way in 
which Puerto Rico is treated differently under several Federal 
programs.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2171.

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