Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, has introduced a House resolution rejecting the Insular Cases, a group of 20th century Supreme Court decisions defining the relationship between the United States and island territories that the nation had recently acquired. Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez, Delegates Plaskett of the… Read more »
On September 20, Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue urging the Department to “follow Congressional intent” and begin a study on the impact of supplemental disaster Nutritional Assistance Program (NAP) funding on food insecurity in Puerto Rico as mandated in federal law enacted in June. “The island continues to suffer from… Read more »
The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which passed in 2016, set up the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) to keep track of Puerto Rico’s fiscal recovery and to help reorganize the Island’s debt. Throughout its existence, the board has been struggling with questions of whether to favor the territory’s creditors… Read more »
The Florida Democratic Party endorsed Puerto Rico statehood in a resolution approved at its state convention in Orlando on Saturday. The resolution – entitled “Supporting the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the United States” – was part of the 2019 resolutions package. The text of the resolution begins by pointing out that… Read more »
In late September, Congress provided a short-term fix to maintain current levels of Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico until November 21. Yet if Congress does not act soon, significant federal funds for Puerto Rico will expire at the end of the year, forcing a substantial number of people in Puerto Rico to begin 2020 without… Read more »
A prominent organization in Puerto Rico is supporting permanent union and equal rights of U.S. citizenship for Americans by asking the U.S. Congress to reclassify the territory’s political status. The Puerto Rico-USA Foundation wants the U.S. national legislative branch to exercise its power over territories and change the territory’s current designation as “unincorporated” to “incorporated”… Read more »
Last year, the U.S. Congress enacted a law making the ancient sport of cockfighting illegal in the U.S. territories, just as it is in all 50 states. Puerto Rico’s galleros, the owners and trainers of the birds, protested the ban, but the Department of Justice reiterated and reinforced the earlier decision this week. As previously reported in… Read more »
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico has some of the rights and responsibilities that the 50 States have. For example, working people in Puerto Rico pay Social Security and payroll taxes just as residents of States do, but they do not get equal benefits. One of the differences between Puerto Rico… Read more »
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), who is the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the communication failures and restoration efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria. According to the FCC, 95 percent of the cell sites in Puerto Rico… Read more »
Census data released last Thursday confirms that Puerto Rico is still losing residents to the States, but there have been some changes in Puerto Rican populations in the various States. New York had the highest total of residents identifying as Puerto Rican for decades, but Florida now has edged out New York. Florida has 1,187,437… Read more »
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