(teresa.canino@gfrmedia.com)
A complicated scenario in Congress Constitutionalists Cristina Ponsa Kraus and Rafael Cox Alomar support a new proposal: a federal referendum between statehood, independence, and free association
A complicated scenario in Congress
Constitutionalists Cristina Ponsa Kraus and Rafael Cox Alomar support a new proposal: a federal referendum between statehood, independence, and free association
Sunday, October 31, 2021 - 11:33 a.m.
Washington - One year after the most recent referendum, efforts to engage Congress in a process on Puerto Rico’s political future are running up against divisions among Democrats and an atmosphere of rejection or little enthusiasm among Republicans.
Although the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Democrat Raúl Grijalva (Arizona), wants to bring the two bills before his committee to a vote before the end of 2021, there´s little information about his plans, at a time when no measure is expected to be passed into law.
“Without procedural consensus neither is going to get anywhere,” warned professor Cristina Ponsa Kraus, who supports statehood, in a forum last Wednesday at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Río Piedras Campus, where she spoke about an alternative proposal she has developed along with fellow constitutionalist Rafael Cox Alomar, who believes in free association, for Congress to regulate a referendum between statehood, independence, and free association.
On November 3, 2020, without the support of the other political parties, the New Progressive Party (PNP) government held a local “yes-or-no” statehood referendum. With a voter turnout of 54 percent, statehood got 52.5 percent of the votes.
It was the second consecutive local referendum in four years in which the PNP unilaterally promoted a status plebiscite and left halfway the attempt to have the endorsement of the U.S. Department of Justice, which through a 2014 federal law can certify the definitions of each alternative and the educational campaign of a referendum.
Last December, just before losing the legislative majority, the PNP government passed a law allowing an election to vote the six officials who since July have been lobbying -with limitations to access Congress- in favor of statehood.
But, 12 months after that event, the path of two bills shows the division among Democrats in Congress, the refusal to advance a pro-statehood bill in the Senate, and the decision of most Republican lawmakers not to even get close to this debate.
For Cox Alomar, a professor at the University of the District of Columbia Law School, in addition to division among the Democratic majority and the opposition of the Republican leadership, also the division among Puerto Ricans on the island and in the Diaspora represents a major factor in seeking to move the debate forward.
“There is a division in the Democratic caucus. If on top of all that we’re going to add another division, we’re not going to get anywhere,” Cox Alomar said.
In the House - considering that five of the representatives support the two bills before the Natural Resources Committee - 77 Democrats, including its authors, support House Bill 2070 by Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, both representing New York, seeking to bind Congress to a Status Convention and a referendum on territorial alternatives.
Meanwhile, 58 Democrats support House Bill 1522 by Darren Soto (Florida) and Washington Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González - who is a Republican – seeking a federal “yes-or-no” statehood referendum, which they want to tie to a process for Puerto Rico’s admission as a U.S. state.
But, only 17 Republicans - including González and American Samoa delegate Amata Coleman Radewagen - have supported Bill 1522 and none Bill 2070.
In the Senate, eight Democrats - including author Robert Menendez (N.J.) - and two Republicans support Bill 865 that is identical to House Bill 2070. Six Democratic senators support pro-statehood Bill 780 which is similar to House Bill 1522 and does not have the approval of a single Senate Republican. The author of the bill in the Senate is Democrat Martin Heinrich (New Mexico).
Before the November 2020 vote, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) ruled out passing a pro-statehood bill. And a month after the vote, the new Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Charles Schumer (New York), warned, in an interview with El Nuevo Día, that the referendum on the island had reflected division, that he would not support a pro-statehood bill and that procedural consensus would be needed to move any legislation forward.
Then, even the PNP’s two main Republican allies in the Senate, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio said there was no atmosphere for statehood and called for focusing on the economy.
To further complicate the matter, the White House has taken distance from the discussion, even though, as a candidate, President Joe Biden promised to " work with representatives who support each of the status options in Puerto Rico to engage in a fair and binding process to determine their status” and personally supported statehood.
The White House Interagency Task Force on Puerto Rico that President Biden revived last July does not have the status debate on its agenda, as it considers that recovery and reconstruction are the priorities for the island.
At Grijalva’s request, however, the U.S. Department of Justice analyzed both bills and recommended significant amendments.
For example, the federal Justice Department determined that the language in Velázquez and Ocasio Cortez´s bill would be unconstitutional if it insisted on tying Congress to a Status Convention that extends beyond the current session of the federal legislature. It also insisted that a status alternatives process must include the current territorial status.
Regarding Bill 1522, the U.S. Department of Justice warned that it should be amended to avoid suggesting that a vote in favor of statehood would mean that the island’s admission would be “a fait accompli” and recommended specifying the transition process regarding the controversial tax issues.
However, Commissioner González is confident that Grijalva will call a voting session in November. And she assumes that Bill 1522 will get a majority vote in the commission. According to the Commissioner, the message given by the House Democratic leadership is that “it has to pass in the committee first,” before thinking about how to get the votes on the floor.
Consensus Measure
Ponsa Kraus - a law professor at Columbia University - testified at the two Natural Resources Committee hearings on status in favor of the pro-statehood bill. Cox Alomar was the main speaker at the second public hearing in support of Bill 2070.
Convinced that the measures filed cancel each other out, since October 1, they shared with the main authors of Bills 1522 and 2070 the draft legislation that includes their proposals, which suggests, as a consensus measure, a federal referendum with three alternatives: statehood; free association; and independence.
On one hand, it would be a plebiscite as Bill 1522 wants and would include decolonizing alternatives as Bill 2070 proposes. “Ponsa and I have had some meetings with that leadership,” said Cox Alomar, interviewed on El Nuevo Día’s “Desde Washington” podcast.
Ponsa Kraus and Cox Alomar’s proposal includes definitions of the status alternatives. If no formula obtains an absolute majority, there would be a runoff between the two with the most votes.
The draft legislation rules out territorial status. “Any commonwealth is territorial, current, or enhanced,” Ponsa Kraus said.
Faced with federal Justice Department requests that a plebiscite on status alternatives include the current territorial status, Cox Alomar said it is Congress that has “the constitutional responsibility” on the territories” and decolonize them.
The Ponsa Kraus and Cox Alomar´s initiative requires Congress to define the tax transition process to each status alternative, the language necessary to repeal PROMESA and recognizes that those who are now U.S. citizens would continue to be U.S. citizens under independence or free association.
It would be up to Congress to determine whether to allow those born in a free association status to also become U.S. citizens, the draft legislation states.
Although Grijalva may want to call a voting session in November, Cox Alomar said he would not be surprised “if nothing happens.”
Ponsa Kraus and Cox Alomar’s proposal also faces obstacles if Bills 1522 and 2070 do not move forward. For example, REpresentative Soto said that a referendum on status alternatives should include territorial status, and Commissioner González opposes separating free association from independence.
While the PPD Governing Board is committed to a territorial commonwealth, the Citizen Victory Movement and the Puerto Rican Independence Party, other sectors of the island and the diaspora support a status assembly.
However, Cox Alomar said that what is clear is that it makes no sense to move forward with a measure that has no chance of being signed into law.
For that reason, he is confident that “when the issues are not moving forward, there will be no choice but to sit down at the negotiating table” and examine the alternative plan they have presented.
Although statehood faces clear Republican opposition, Cox Alomar said there is a historic obligation for it to be an alternative, because of the support it has in Puerto Rico and to promote “a fair, transparent and inclusive process.”
Cox Alomar said, however, that it is natural that “if the Senate blocked statehood for (Washington D.C.), it will obviously do the same for Puerto Rico.”
As she had previously told El Nuevo Día, Ponsa Kraus reaffirmed at the UPR forum that Congress “owes Puerto Rico an offer of statehood”. But, she also thinks that many may feel excluded from a statehood yes or no referendum, so she supports the idea of seeking a consensus that recognizes independence and free association as separate alternatives. The important thing, she said, is that the alternatives are clearly defined.
“If Congress does not define beforehand, it cannot guarantee implementation and if Congress does not guarantee implementation then we would be voting beforehand for something that Congress can ignore,” Ponsa Kraus stressed.
And the six local referendums held since 1967, including the one that will be one year old this Wednesday, are a clear example of that.
Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on Puerto Rico
Today, the Department of Justice will file a brief in the Supreme Court in the case United States v. Vaello-Madero, which addresses whether a provision in the Social Security Act that declines to provide Puerto Rico residents with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) violates the Constitution’s equal protection principle.
This provision is inconsistent with my Administration’s policies and values. However, the Department of Justice has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of federal statutes, regardless of policy preferences. This practice is critical to the Department’s mission of preserving the rule of law. Consistent with this important practice, the Department is defending the constitutionality of the Social Security Act provision in this case.
As I have stated, I believe that Puerto Rico residents should be able to receive SSI benefits, just like their fellow Americans in all 50 states and Washington D.C. I call on Congress to amend the Social Security Act to extend these benefits to residents of Puerto Rico. And as I reiterated in my first budget request, I also support eliminating Medicaid funding caps for Puerto Rico and moving toward parity for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to align with States. These steps, along with the American Rescue Plan, which included an enhanced Child Tax Credit for families and a permanent federal match expansion to the Earned Income Tax Credit program, will provide families in Puerto Rico an equal chance to get ahead. As I’ve said before, there can be no second-class citizens in the United States of America. My Administration will work with members of Congress to make these legislative fixes a reality.
Puerto Rico deserves to be a state. Will Rep. Raúl Grijalva help make it happen? -Matt Helder
Opinion: There are two competing bills on Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state, and Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva is in a key position to move one of them forward.
Matt Helder and José A. Cabrera opinion contributors
Puerto Ricans headed to the polls in November, just like every other American.
But rather than Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, headlining the ballot was a simple question: Should Puerto Rico be admitted as a state? Yes or no.
That’s because unlike every other American, Puerto Ricans are denied the right to vote for president, for U.S. senators and for voting members of the House of Representatives.
While previous referendums in 2012 and 2017 demonstrated that Puerto Rico preferred statehood to varying degrees, the 2020 result conclusively showed that a majority of voters want statehood.
In addition to the 53% of Puerto Rican voters who said “yes” to statehood, they also elected a second consecutive pro-statehood governor and reelected their pro-statehood congresswoman, Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, to carry their message to Washington, D.C.
1 of 2 bills ignores the will of voters
The winds of change for statehood that had been blowing for more than a decade are now undeniable.
And yet, denial of the popular will is exactly what some members of Congress seem intent on doing when it comes to listening to Puerto Rican voters.
Unlike the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, sponsored by a wide bipartisan coalition of lawmakers – including the lone representative from Puerto Rico – the Puerto Rico Self Determination Act has been introduced by members of Congress that, between all of them combined, received zero votes from residents of Puerto Rico.
And this is where Arizona congressman Raúl Grijalva can play a key role at correcting this injustice, as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has congressional jurisdiction over Puerto Rico’s status, by throwing his support behind the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act.
It creates a new process for statehood
Unlike the Statehood bill, the Self-Determination Act disregards the results of the November 2020 referendum.
Puerto Rico’s elected government duly legislated and executed this referendum held on Election Day, and all parties that support or reject statehood participated. Voters made a choice and statehood won. Despite its name, the Self-Determination Act ironically ignores Puerto Rico’s self-determination.
Furthermore, the bill imposes a new, unprecedented process that no territory ever had to face when requesting admission. In the case of Alaska and Hawaii, both territories requested statehood, as Puerto Rico just did. Congress legislated admission acts, and voters approved the terms of admission.
The process to admit these noncontiguous states was simple – and that is what the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act proposes. Instead, the Self-Determination Act proposes a complex nonbinding process involving semipermanent status assemblies and negotiating committees in an attempt to supersede what Puerto Rican voters have already mandated.
The process patronizes Puerto Ricans
At its core, the “self-determination” act is flawed in its paternalism. The bill was introduced without the support of Puerto Rico's governor or member of Congress. One thing on which pro-statehood and pro-independence advocates agree is the fact that Puerto Rico is governed as a colony and without sovereignty in its own internal affairs.
It is disappointing, then, that the sponsors of the bill completely discard the internal processes and votes of Puerto Rico in favor of a new congressionally imposed process in which the top Puerto Rican elected officials had no say.
The bill’s message of “you are not capable of deciding” is insulting to Puerto Rican voters and is nothing less than colonial.
For years, members of Congress have embraced the refrain of “let Puerto Ricans decide in a referendum.” If they truly believe that, then it is time to honor the votes of Puerto Ricans cast thus far, and give them the chance to vote in a binding referendum on statehood, a chance the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act would afford them.
Grijalva should support the other bill
The silver lining to the introduction of two competing bills regarding the status of Puerto Rico is that the issue is now a matter of national importance.
Rather than become mired in a stalemate at Puerto Rico’s expense, Chairman Grijalva should work with his colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee, which will be considering these opposing bills, without delay to lead on resolving Puerto Rico’s undemocratic colonial status.
As the committee does so, it should err heavily on the side of the expressed will of Puerto Rican voters and their elected representatives.
Matt Helder is government relations director for the American Cancer Society in Washington state and José A. Cabrera, an attorney, is chair of the Puerto Rico Star Project. On Twitter, @matt_helder, @CabreraCostas.
Juramentan cuatro delegados al Congreso
[Extracto de la noticia]
El gobernador Pedro Pierluisi juramentó a cuatro de las personas electas a ejercer como delegados a la capital federal para cabildear por la estadidad para Puerto Rico.
En un evento en el Salón de los Espejos en La Fortaleza, el gobernador dio la bienvenida a los cabilderos que fueron juramentados por el juez del Tribunal Supremo Eric Kolthoff. La actividad fue transmitida por las redes sociales del gobernador, pero no estuvo abierto a preguntas de la prensa.
Los juramentados ayer fueron Elizabeth Torres, Roberto Lefranc Fortuño, María ‘Mayita’ Meléndez y Melinda Romero. De acuerdo con el gobernador, eventualmente juramentará a Zoraida Buxó, quien fue electa como delegada al Senado federal junto a Romero.
“La lucha no va a ser fácil. Habrá obstáculos, tendrán que enfrentarse a los profetas del desastre y aquellos que, por las razones que sean, difieren de los que creemos en la estadidad”, dijo el gobernador.
Torres se presentó como “estadista desde que tengo uso de razón” y dijo que en sus estudios de leyes “la academia va por la izquierda y me fui por la derecha porque entendí que ahí estaba la verdadera justicia para esta tierra”.
“Vengo de rojo porque entiendo que soy una apasionada de mis causas. Quiero poner a disposición del pueblo todos mis talentos para entregarle a mis hijos y los hijos de mis hijos el mejor regalo que puedo dar, que es la verdadera igualdad ante la ley suprema que es la Constitución de Estados Unidos”, afirmó Torres.
Para leer más:
Juramentan cuatro de los seis delegados congresionales
[Extracto de la noticia]
En una ceremonia en La Fortaleza, el juez asociado del Tribunal Supremo Erick Kolthoff Caraballo tomó juramento esta tarde a cuatro de los seis delegados congresionales, que desde hoy cabildearan por la anexión de Puerto Rico a Estados Unidos.
Durante el encuentro íntimo, que se celebró en el Salón de los Espejos, la estudiante de derecho, Elizabeth Torres Rodríguez, conocida en las redes sociales como la “Premisa Inarticulada”, la exalcaldesa de Ponce, María “Mayita” Meléndez, la exsenadora Melinda Romero Donnelly y el portavoz de la Legislatura Municipal de Guaynabo, Roberto Lefranc Fortuño, juraron “trabajar activamente y a tiempo completo” durante el término del cargo para alcanzar la meta de convertir a la Isla en un estado.
La exsecretaria de Corrección Zoraida Buxó Santiago no juramentó al cargo porque se encuentra de viaje, mientras que la sexta posición se encuentra en suspenso luego que un tribunal ordenó no certificar al exgobernador Ricardo Rosselló Nevares porque no cumplía con el requisito de residencia para ocupar la posición.
“La lucha no será fácil… Tendrán que enfrentar a los profetas del desastre”, afirmó el gobernador Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia en un mensaje previo a la juramentación.
“Pero van a tener una espada más fuerte que cualquier otra. Van a tener al pueblo detrás de ustedes. La mayoría del pueblo de Puerto Rico se expresó y ese mandato es la mejor carta de presentación que van a tener ante el Congreso”, agregó.
Para leer más:
The Perils of Politics in the Scholarly Debate on Puerto Rico's Constitutional Status -Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus
Joel I. Colón-Ríos’s recent blog “Scholars and the Politics of Puerto Rico’s Constitutional Status” makes a contribution to the latest round of debate over Puerto Rican decolonization. Professor Colón-Ríos takes aim at a letter to U.S. congressional leadership from a group of legal and constitutional scholars supporting the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act and opposing the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, both currently
Read MoreThe Battle Over Puerto Rico’s Future - Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus
Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus
Puerto Rico’s future is on the agenda in Congress. Last week, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a contentious hearing on two competing bills addressing Puerto Rico’s status. The first, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, responds to a referendum on the island last November in which statehood won with 52.5 percent of the vote. It provides for Puerto Rico’s admission into the Union as a state, but makes admission contingent on a second referendum. Were statehood to prevail again, the Act would require the President of the United States to…
Prof Andres Cordova in the Remote Full Committee/Office of Insular Affairs Legislative Hearing - June 16, 2021
Prof Andres Cordova
Congress has a legal, political and moral responsibility to help resolve Puerto Rico’s political status.
Christina Ponsa Kraus in the Remote Full Committee/Office of Insular Affairs Legislative Hearing - June 16, 2021
Christina Ponsa Kraus
Congress has a legal, political and moral responsibility to help resolve Puerto Rico’s political status.
Conferencia de Prensa con Miembros del Shadow Delegates
Reacciones a la segunda vista de estatus del Congreso.
Read MoreRemote Full Committee/Office of Insular Affairs Legislative Hearing – June 16, 2021
Congress has a legal, political and moral responsibility to help resolve Puerto Rico’s political status. We’re holding a full Committee legislative hearing on Wednesday, June 16, on two different proposals for the future of the island’s political status. Watch live here at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling upon United States to Promote Puerto Rico’s Self-Determination, Eventual Independence
The Special Committee on Decolonization approved today a draft resolution calling upon the United States to assume its responsibility to promote a process to enable the people of Puerto Rico to fully exercise their right to self-determination and independence.
Approving the draft resolution “Special Committee decision of 5 August 2020 concerning Puerto Rico” (document A/AC.109/2021/L.7) without a vote, it requested that the General Assembly call again upon the Government of the United States to address the Puerto Rican people’s urgent economic and…
Read MoreChair Grijalva Releases DOJ Analysis of Puerto Rico Political Status Bills, Witness List for This Wednesday’s Full Committee Legislative Hearing
Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) this morning released a long-awaited Department of Justice (DOJ) analysis of the constitutionality and feasibility of two political status bills for Puerto Rico. Grijalva also released the witness list for this Wednesday’s legislative hearing on both bills.
One bill, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act (H.R. 2070) sponsored by Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), would “recognize the right of the People of Puerto Rico to call a status convention through which the people would exercise their natural right to self-determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision.” DOJ’s analysis of that bill is available here.
The other, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act (H.R. 1522) sponsored by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-P.R.), would “provide for the admission of the State of Puerto Rico into the Union.” DOJ’s analysis of that bill is available here.
Read MoreAcademia Congresional en La Fortaleza de PR
Recibimos nuevamente en La Fortaleza de PR a todos los delegados congresionales electos para continuar su participación en la Academia Congresional donde se discutieron las mejores estrategias de trabajo en el Congreso y cada uno expuso sus…
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El gobernador Pedro Pierluisi sostuvo este lunes en La Fortaleza su primera reunión con los delegados congresionales que fueron elegidos en la elección especial que se celebró durante el domingo.
El mandatario catalogó el encuentro como uno productivo…
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