Bipartisan Puerto Rican Statehood Push Resumes

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has restarted efforts to give Puerto Ricans the right to vote on their status, including the options for independence, sovereignty in free association with the United States, or statehood. 

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., this week introduced legislation this week for a plebiscite, defined as a vote allowing the people of an entire country or district to express an opinion for or against a proposal, reports Roll Call.

Afterward, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said during a news conference outside the Capitol that as “America means choice,” freedom, and liberty, the people of Puerto Rico “ought to have a choice.”

The bill is being co-sponsored by Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres of New York. Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and María Elvira Salazar of Florida also attended the press conference, along with Democrat Reps. Nydia M. Velázquez of New York and Darren Soto of Florida and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, R-Puerto Rico.

Last year, Hoyer was the majority leader when a nearly identical measure passed the House by a 233-191 vote, with 16 Republicans voting for it; but the bill never got a vote in the Senate. The Biden White House also issued an administration policy at the time supporting the legislation.

Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Thursday, “Our government has always honored and protected civil rights and ensured that every citizen has a voice and a vote. That is what Puerto Ricans ask from Congress. That is what they deserve as American citizens: to be heard, to be counted, to have a seat at the table.”

Some Republicans had opposed the bill last year in Congress out of concerns about returning military bases to the United States if Puerto Rico becomes sovereign or independent. They also mentioned the potential burden on the territory’s taxpayers to repay the United States relief funds that were allocated to the island during hurricanes and were concerned about the lack of a fiscal impact score from the Congressional Budget Office.

Grijalva and others, though, said that last year, the legislation wasn’t introduced in time to allow more than a narrow window for passage, but this year, lawmakers will have more time to move the bill to the floor. 

“Filing these bills early on this Congress will allow all of us not just to have a hearing, but to actually see the bill and get something done in the Senate at the same time,” González-Colón said.  

The action will need to meet with GOP support in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and will need buy-in from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. It will also require Republican support in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.

Grijalva said there is some interest in the Senate for a companion bill.

The United States granted Puerto Rico territory status in 1917 after acquiring it from Spain in 1898. Those born on the island are considered U.S. citizens, but they do not have voting representation in Congress.

Thursday’s bill will set a binding plebiscite vote for November 2025 and a runoff set in March 2026 if a majority is not reached, and it will ensure that whatever option Puerto Rico’s voters choose will be implemented. 

“What we are offering here is a democratic, inclusive, fair process,” Velázquez said. “The people of Puerto Rico must decide their future, and Congress has the responsibility and power to facilitate that process.”