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Schumer and Pierluisi Introduce Puerto Rico Medicare Equity Legislation

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) introduced legislation today that would enable Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico the have the same access to insurance for doctor services that their fellow U.S. citizens do.

Under current law, Medicare beneficiaries in every state and territory except for Puerto Rico who are enrolled in Medicare Part A (hospital care) are automatically enrolled in Part B (doctor services and outpatient hospital care) in Medicare Part B.Read More »Schumer and Pierluisi Introduce Puerto Rico Medicare Equity Legislation

Why Does the Death Penalty Exist in Puerto Rico?

Contrary to the claims of Commonwealth proponents, there is no “compact” between the U.S. and Puerto Rico that grants Puerto Rico power equal to that of the federal government.  The United States can – and does – unilaterally override Puerto Rican policy and preferences.

The death penalty was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1929, two years after the last local execution was held. Puerto Rico’s constitution, written in 1952, explicitly outlaws the death penalty, saying simply “the death penalty shall not exist.”

In 2000, U.S. District Judge Salvador Casellas ruled that the federal death penalty should not be applied in Puerto Rico because Puerto Rican residents have no voting representation in Congress, which reinstated the federal death penalty in 1994 as part of drug-related legislation. “It shocks the conscience to impose the ultimate penalty, death, upon American citizens who are denied the right to participate directly or indirectly in the government that enacts and authorizes the imposition of such punishment,” Casellas wrote.Read More »Why Does the Death Penalty Exist in Puerto Rico?

Conservatives Press for Puerto Rican Statehood

Some people have claimed that Puerto Rico’s desire for statehood will be ignored by Republicans in Congress because they believe that statehood is a liberal cause or that new Puerto Rican voters will be too liberal for Republicans.  Current thinking in the Latino conservative network, however, is to the contrary.

The Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles held a press conference last week  to educate people about why statehood is a conservative issue.  The roster of Latino and conservative leaders was impressive:Read More »Conservatives Press for Puerto Rican Statehood

Immigration Reform and Puerto Rico Self-Determination: What it Means to be a U.S. Citizen

As immigration reform moves forward, what will happen to the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?

By Howard L. Hills*

I.   Redeeming the promise of equality in America

As our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico enter the twelfth decade of a quest for self-determination, a new potential setback has emerged, the irony of which would be almost as cruel as Puerto Rican soldiers fighting overseas for democratic rights that they are denied back home as residents of a U.S. possession.

It could be regarded as profoundly unfair and demoralizing if 11 million people who entered the U.S. unlawfully are given a path to full enfranchisement and equal citizenship rights, while the 4 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico remain disenfranchised in a less than equal citizenship status. How would Puerto Ricans explain that to their children?  How would any other American do the same?Read More »Immigration Reform and Puerto Rico Self-Determination: What it Means to be a U.S. Citizen