[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7182-7183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PLEBISCITES ON THE STATEHOOD QUESTION FOR PUERTO RICO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 17, 2013

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege to 
visit Puerto Rico three times over the years and have enjoyed many 
visits and meetings with citizens and officials of Puerto Rico when 
they have come to Washington. I believe that Puerto Rico is a beautiful 
island, but more importantly it has many wonderful people.
  I have been involved in the issue of statehood for Puerto Rico for 
many years. While I love Puerto Rico and its people, I do not believe 
any place should become another state unless an overwhelming majority 
of its citizens support statehood. This is certainly not the case in 
Puerto Rico at this time. In fact, support for statehood in Puerto Rico 
has consistently remained at around less than half the population.
  I appreciate very much the contributions of Puerto Rico and its 
citizens to our Country, and I especially admire and respect the 
service of many Puerto Ricans in the U.S. military.
  I hope that the U.S. and Puerto Rico continue to have the closest 
possible ties. When the economy of Puerto Rico is strong, trade with 
the U.S. increases creating jobs in both places. What is good for the 
U.S. is generally also good for Puerto Rico, and vice versa.
  I am always willing to consider and occasionally even support the 
right of the citizens of Puerto Rico to have referenda or plebiscites 
on the statehood question. It would be foolish and too expensive to 
have such a vote every year, but certainly I would not object to having 
such a vote once every few years.
  However, my main goal would be to make sure that such a plebiscite be 
conducted in the fairest way possible. I, and many, many others, felt 
that the most recent plebiscite was skewed in a way to tilt the 
election toward statehood.
  Now, I am told both the House of Representatives and Senate of Puerto 
Rico have passed a resolution stating that the plebiscite held on 
November 6, 2012 portrayed a false majority in favor of statehood and 
prevented an accurate vote on the option of commonwealth status.
  I want to make absolutely sure that any future plebiscite on the 
question of statehood be conducted in the fairest way possible and 
certainly not in a way biased toward any particular outcome.
  I want to help do everything possible so that everyone can work 
together to help foster economic growth for those of us in the 50 
states, as well as for our friends, the citizens of Puerto Rico.

       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 on the results of the plebiscite held on November 6, 
     2012, and support the request of the President of the United 
     States of America for Congress to appropriate $2.5 million 
     for the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for a 
     congressionally-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 received a majority of the 
     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, which had been favored by the people of Puerto Rico 
     in all previously-held plebiscites.
       The results were the following: to the first question which 
     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 (454,768), 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, this second question 
     received a total of four hundred ninety-eight thousand six 
     hundred four (498,604) blank votes, which accounted for 
     twenty-six point five percent (26.5%) of the votes cast. 
     These results should not surprise us, since the preceding 
     Legislative Assembly approved the 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 
     arguing that it was contrary to the provisions of H.R. 2499, 
     as amended and 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 also 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 to the plebiscite as designed. 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 a 
     ballot, traditionally do so by spoiling their ballots, 
     casting a blank ballot, or voting for a fictional character.
       If the United States Congress wants 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 not favoring that 
     option. 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 such option achieved in 1998. In other 
     words, fifty-five point six percent (55.6%) of Puerto Rican 
     voters rejected Statehood in the 2012 plebiscite.
       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 included the recommendations of the 
     Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status appointed by President 
     Barack Obama. Such Task Force proposed--on the 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, the preceding 
     government administration missed the opportunity 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. 
     This action taken by the President of the United States

[[Page 7183]]

     demonstrates that the plebiscite designed by the preceding 
     government administration lacks all legitimacy or credibility 
     before the government of the United States of America.
       In light of the history of the imposed and exclusionary 
     plebiscites held in Puerto Rico, 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 I.--To inform the President and the Congress of the 
     United States on the results of the plebiscite held on 
     November 6, 2012, and support the request of the President of 
     the United States of America for Congress to appropriate $2.5 
     million for the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for 
     a congressionally-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 cast (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.

                          ____________________