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Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL), Senate Floor Statement upon the Introduction of S. Con. Res. 75, Relating to the Commonwealth Option in Puerto Rico, September 30, 1994.  In the interests of comity, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico permitted each of the three political parties represented in the plebiscite–the Statehood Party, the Commonwealth Party, and the Independence Party–to draw up its own definition of its status option for inclusion on the plebiscite ballot. This attempt to be fair, however, led to the formulation and appearance of completely unrealistic status options on the November 14 ballot.Read More »Sen. Paul Simon

Committee on Resources Report on the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act (HR 856), June 12, 1997, Report Number 105-131, Part 1, pp.22-23 and 26.   [I]n the case of “commonwealth” it quite clearly was a conscious decision of PDP leaders to define it as they would like Congress to change and improve it, rather than it actually is at this time.Read More »Committee on Resources Report on the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act

Rep. George Miller (D-CA), House Floor Debate on H.R. 856, United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act, March 4, 1998, Congressional Record, page H774 (oral remarks). … Read More »Rep. George Miller

Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), Testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, October 4, 2000, p. 9.  Maybe [Enhanced Commonwealth] is the result of pure ignorance or maybe it is the brainchild of political opportunists seeking to confuse or complicate the issue.  Regardless, it is our duty to clarify these statements that have misled millions of U.S. citizens and that have been perpetuated by the lack of Congressional action.  The fact that a political faction in Puerto Rico promises this definition as feasible is an affront to the truth and to our shared democratic principles.  I suspect that if the “enhanced commonwealth definition” was, in fact, constitutionally viable, the United States of America would not have 50 independent States, we would have 50 enhanced commonwealths rather than what we have today.Read More »Rep. Dan Burton

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, October 4, 2000, p. 7.  Now, it seems to me that if something looks like a duck and it acts like a duck and it talks like a duck, we all know that it is probably a duck.  But if something would look like a territory, act like a nation, and walk like a State, I think we know what it is, too.  It is unconstitutional and legislatively unattainable.Read More »Rep. Jim Saxton

Rep. Kildee (D-MI), Statement before the House Natural Resources Committee, October 4, 2000, p. 29.  I think this proposal is legal fiction, at best, and a hoax, at worst.  I do not see how it can be done.  But if it could be done, if this legal fiction somehow could be defictionalized, then you could have that theoretical situation of one U.S. citizen voting against another U.S. citizen in the [United Nations].  It is never going to happen because I think this thing is patently unconstitutional.Read More »Rep. Kildee

Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila, written Responses to Questions submitted by Senator Craig (R-ID), Senate Energy Committee, November 15, 2006, pp. 49-51.Read More »Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Statement before the Senate Energy Committee, November 15, 2006, p. 12.  [I]t is the responsibility of the federal and local government to ensure that commonwealth proposals the U.S. Department of Justice has labeled “illusory” and “deceptive” are not allowed to appear on self-determination ballots.Read More »Senator Larry Craig