On Thursday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell voted in favor of H.R. 8393, the Puerto Rico Status Act. It would allow the residents of Puerto Rico to vote for their political status moving forward.
The Puerto Rico Status Act is a compromise between the sponsors of two bills seeking to resolve Puerto Rico’s territorial status: the Puerto Rico Statehood Admissions Act and the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act. It would provide residents an opportunity to select from three non-territorial, fully self-governing political status options: Statehood, Independence, and Sovereignty in Free Association with the United States.
The bill passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 233 to 191.
“I’m proud to stand in support of self-determination for the people of Puerto Rico in voting for the Puerto Rico Status Act,” Rep. Sewell stated. “For too long, the residents of Puerto Rico have been denied the opportunity to freely determine their own political status. This bill is about righting that wrong and placing the future of Puerto Rico back into the hands of Puerto Ricans where it belongs.”
The Puerto Rico Status Act would:
· Authorize a federally sponsored plebiscite to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status.
· Specify and define Puerto Rico’s non-territorial status options: Independence, Sovereignty in Free Association with the United States, and Statehood.
· Provide for an objective, nonpartisan, federally funded voter education campaign leading up to the vote.
· Establish a process and timeline for the U.S. Department of Justice to review the plebiscite voter education materials and plebiscite ballot design.
· Authorize necessary funds to carry out an initial plebiscite and, if necessary, a runoff plebiscite.
· Describe the transition to and implementation of each status option in sufficient detail for eligible voters in Puerto Rico to make an informed choice about Puerto Rico’s future political status.
· Ensure the result of the plebiscite is binding and implement the option that is chosen by a majority of eligible voters in Puerto Rico.
Ending what they see as America’s colonial occupation of Puerto Rico is a goal of Progressive Democrats in Congress.
“Today, for the first time in our nation’s history, the United States will acknowledge its role as a colonizing force and Puerto Rico’s status as an extended colony,” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on the House floor.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez was born and raised in Puerto Rico.
“Congress’ unlimited plenary powers over Puerto Rico is reminiscent of the monarchical powers enjoyed by King George III, against which the founders of the American Republic so bravely fought,” Velazquez said. “If [Alexander] Hamilton and [James]Madison were alive today, they would be shocked to see how the anti-colonial Constitution they drafted in 1787 is currently used to legitimize colonialism in Puerto Rico even 300 years later.”
The legislation now moves on to the Senate for its consideration.
Sewell was recently re-elected to her seventh term representing Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District.
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