The United States House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to hold for the first time a binding referendum on whether the territory becomes a state of the Union or acquires some form of independence. The initiative has little chance of being approved by the Senate.
The bill, approved by 233 votes to 191 with some Republican support, would give the island’s voters three options: become a state, become independent or become independent with free association.
“It is crucial to me that any proposal in Congress to decolonize Puerto Rico be informed and led by Puerto Ricans,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Calif., chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in the territories.
The proposal would force Congress to accept Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the United States if approved by the island’s voters. The other options would be independence or independence with free association on terms to be defined through negotiations on foreign relations, US citizenship and the use of the dollar.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who has worked on the issue his entire career, said making the bill a “long, hard road” to get to a vote.
“For too long, the people of Puerto Rico have been excluded from the full promise of American democracy and self-determination that our nation has always promoted,” said the legislator.
Approved by the Democratic-controlled chamber, the bill moves to the Senate, where it faces a peremptory deadline at the end of the year and Republican opposition to allowing it to become a state.
Source: El Nuevo Herald
