Thread: Bipartisan Bill Seeks To Make Puerto Rico The 51st U.S. State

Bipartisan Bill Seeks To Make Puerto Rico The 51st U.S. State By 2021

Dominique Mosbergen
June 28, 2018

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Bipartisan Bill Seeks To Make Puerto Rico The 51st U.S. State By 2021

A bipartisan bill introduced on Wednesday seeks to make the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico the nation’s 51st state.


A bipartisan bill introduced on Wednesday seeks to make the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico the nation’s 51st state.

Filed by Rep. Jennifer González-Colón (R), Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner and non-voting representative in Congress, the bill lays out a plan to enable the territory to become a state by January 2021.

“This is the first step to open a serious discussion to determine the ultimate political status of Puerto Rico,” González said, per NBC News. “To sum everything up, this is about equality.”

The move has been described as Puerto Rico’s “biggest push for statehood” in many years.

Fourteen Democrats and 20 Republicans have backed the bill thus far; however, it remains unclear what odds the legislation has of passing.

View image on Twitter

Jenniffer González

✔@RepJenniffer


Today is a historic day. I am proud to be the spokesperson and, from the Congress, the one to start us on the road to the decolonization of Puerto Rico. #ElMomentoEsAhora

5:39 PM - Jun 27, 2018

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Jenniffer González

✔@RepJenniffer


I thank my Republican and Democratic colleagues in Congress who continue to join as co-sponsors of the bill and those who were with us during the press conference to reiterate their support for Puerto Rico Statehood.

6:12 PM - Jun 27, 2018

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Several lawmakers supporting the bill said the federal government’s response to Puerto Rico’s devastation following Hurricane Maria highlighted the territory’s need for statehood.

“The hard truth is that Puerto Rico’s lack of political power allows Washington to treat Puerto Rico like an afterthought, as the federal government’s inadequate preparation for and response to Hurricane Maria made crystal clear,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) told NBC News.

Nine months after the hurricane first hit the region, “millions in federal dollars for [post-Maria] reconstruction have yet to be allocated,” The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

To this day, thousands of Puerto Rican residents remain without power.

David Begnaud

✔@DavidBegnaud


Today in Puerto Rico

9 months after Hurricane Maria

2,365 customers still do not have power; in many cases these are homes where more than one person lives

It may be another month before they get it.

We’re going to tweet about this until the last customer has power

12:58 PM - Jun 27, 2018

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Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898 when it was acquired following the Spanish-American War. Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they can’t vote in presidential elections and don’t have a congressional representative with full voting powers.

González said her new bill calls for the creation of a bipartisan, nine-member task force to look into what measures need to be changed to allow Puerto Rico to be incorporated as a state.

“No longer do we want ambiguity. No longer do we want this kicked down the road,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who’s fiercely advocated for statehood in the past, said at a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

“In Congress, you’re either with us or you’re against the people of Puerto Rico.”

View image on Twitter

Ricardo Rossello

✔@ricardorossello



Our fight for complete equality is our legacy to the people of Puerto Rico. It is imperative that our generation ends the colonial relationship that we endure. @Jenniffer2012

11:05 AM - Jun 27, 2018

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Puerto Ricans have been divided on the issue of statehood for decades. In the last referendum on the issue, 97 percent of those who voted supported statehood. According to NBC News, the opposition party boycotted the plebiscite, and only 23 percent of registered voters ended up casting ballots.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bipartisa...091209298.html

NO

I DO NOT WANT TO REBUILD THAT WASTELAND WITH MY MONEY!

SELL IT OFF TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!

Big Money Is Buying Up Puerto Rico’s Risky Real Estate

Distressed-mortgage investors are descending on troubled Puerto Rico. There are big names among them: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Perella Weinberg Partners and TPG Capital.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Big Money Is Buying Up Puerto Rico’s Risky Real Estate


Distressed-mortgage investors are descending on troubled Puerto Rico. There are big names among them: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Perella Weinberg Partners and TPG Capital.

As long as not ONE taxpayer dime does not rebuild that corrupt Island...let them have it!

The rich people are doing the same thing in Miami and other areas in Florida.

As foreigners move in, Miami real estate is so expensive that locals are moving out

And New York City

Hipsters are driving low-income Hispanics out of Brooklyn

Originally Posted by Beezer

NO

I DO NOT WANT TO REBUILD THAT WASTELAND WITH MY MONEY!

SELL IT OFF TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!

My thoughts exactly. We should cut them loose, give them their independence, and let THEM worry about their future, not us. And after we do that, everyone from that crappy island will automatically lose their citizenship, and they can all go back home and start rebuilding.

I agree with this.

My family is from Puerto Rico and the regular people have been trying to get rid of there corrupt government for decades.

I just wanted to try to clarify one of the major problems Puerto Ricans struggle with.

First off, Puerto Rican's are white (Caucasian). Like myself.... Blond, Light hazel eyes & olive skin.
Put me in the sun for an hour and I look like a very ripe, red tomato.

They DO NOT consider themselves Hispanic.
They will NEVER, NEVER check-mark 'HISPANIC' on a government form.

Puerto Rico has a major illegal immigration problem with people coming from Haiti and the
Dominican Republic forming enclaves of Dominican/Haitian ghettos.

The tensions and animosity between the Puerto Ricans and the illegal immigrant communities
have been building for decades.

The lower class or poorer Puerto Rican's live among the illegal immigrants which grew into
a mixed race community. The mixed race children are primarily born with black or very dark skin.

Puerto Rican's look down on them and call them 'Malano's'. They feel much like how we do about
the people here from Mexico and South America.

The typical Puerto Rican stereotype on the mainland (United States), I feel stems from the Puerto Ricans (Malano's)
that migrate into the U.S.

Myself included. Growing up in New York, I thought all Puerto Rican's were dark skin/black,
uneducated people that worked in factories and stood on the corners screaming sexual obscenities when
you walked past them.

I remember my first trip to the island to visit family. I did not want to go, afraid my family was all going to look
like the people in the factory of the dress company I worked for.

To my surprise, I was totally stunned when I arrived in Puerto Rico and everyone looked like me.

Light hair, light eyes and olive skin.

Lorrie, do you think Puerto Rico should be a full State or independent? I don't really know enough about the issue. I only know that there was a national security issue that started our involvement in Puerto Rico and it grew from there. I also like our 50 states, our flag and 100 Senators. It would change a lot of things in the US to add Puerto Rico as a state, but if there is a good reason for it that would be good for Puerto Rico and good for the US, I would like to know. Thanks!!