[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD ADMISSION PROCESS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Puerto Rico (Mr. Pierluisi) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PIERLUISI. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the most forceful 
and ambitious statehood admission bill for Puerto Rico in U.S. history. 
The bill, fittingly, has 51 original cosponsors from both parties.
  Before I describe the bill, let me explain its background. In 2012, 
the Puerto Rico government sponsored a referendum in which voters 
rejected Puerto Rico's current territory status and expressed a clear 
preference for statehood.
  In the 113th Congress, at my initiative, the President proposed and 
Congress approved an appropriation of $2.5 million to fund the first 
federally sponsored status vote in Puerto Rico's history. The funding 
will remain available until it is used by the Puerto Rico government.
  While the law does not prescribe the exact format of the ballot, it 
does establish important conditions; namely, the law provides that the 
U.S. Department of Justice must certify that the ballot and voter 
education materials are consistent with U.S. law and policy.
  The bipartisan bill I am introducing today flows from and builds upon 
the 2012 referendum and the Federal appropriation enacted in response 
to that referendum. In other words, this bill is being filed now 
because the strategic foundation is firmly in place.
  Every action I take is designed to advance the statehood cause 
because it is beyond dispute that territory status is the main source 
of Puerto Rico's grave economic and social problems. My constituents 
have no interest in symbolic gestures or empty rhetoric. They care only 
about concrete steps that bring Puerto Rico closer to equality.
  My bill would authorize a vote to be held in Puerto Rico within 1 
year of the bill's enactment--that is, by no later than the end of 
2017. The ballot would contain a single question: Shall Puerto Rico be 
admitted as a State of the United States?
  To conduct this vote, the Puerto Rico government may use the $2.5 
million that Congress already approved since this format clearly 
satisfies the conditions of the appropriations law. If a majority of 
voters affirm their desire for admission, the bill provides for an 
automatic series of steps to occur.
  First, by February 2018, the President would issue a proclamation to 
begin Puerto Rico's transition to statehood.
  Second, the President would appoint a commission to prepare a report 
that describes the Federal laws that treat the territory of Puerto Rico 
differently than the States. The commission would complete the report 
by July 2018. The congressional committees of jurisdiction could then 
enact legislation to phase in equal treatment of Puerto Rico during the 
transition period so the admission process is structured and orderly.
  Third, in November 2020, the American citizens of Puerto Rico would 
vote for President and Vice President, two U.S. Senators, and voting 
Members of the U.S. House.
  Finally, on January 1, 2021, the President would proclaim Puerto Rico 
to be a State. Puerto Rico's congressional Representatives would be 
sworn into office, and Puerto Rico would be treated on equal footing 
with all other States.
  My bill is modeled on the legislation enacted by Congress with 
respect to Alaska and Hawaii. When Alaska and Hawaii were territories, 
they each held votes sponsored by their local governments in which 
voters expressed a desire for statehood. This is also what occurred in 
Puerto Rico in 2012.
  Ultimately, Congress enacted an admission act for Alaska in 1958 and 
an admission act for Hawaii in 1959. Those acts of Congress provided 
for admission to occur once a majority of voters in each territory 
affirmed in a federally sponsored vote that they desired statehood. 
That is precisely what my bill would do with respect to Puerto Rico.
  Every Member of Congress who cosponsors this bill is standing up for 
a powerful, powerful principle, which is this: the people of Puerto 
Rico are U.S. citizens, they have enriched the life of this Nation for 
generations, and they have fought and died to defend her.
  If a majority of Puerto Rico's voters affirm their desire in a 
federally sponsored vote to become a full and equal part of the 
American family, the will of the people should be honored. Democracy 
requires no less.

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