Puerto Rico was initially included in the U.S. Food Stamp program, but in the 1980s — as part of a general cutback — Puerto Rico was cut out of the federal program and placed instead in the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), a block grant that caps resources at a flat amount regardless of need. While… Read more »

Columnist Justin Hankins suggests that the Democratic Party could get control of the Senate by adding a couple of new Democratic states — specifically, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. He’s not the first to suggest this strategy, by any means. But he does have a counterproposal: the Republicans should find a new red state for… Read more »

Congress passed a bold new voting rights bill mandating automatic voter registration, a federal Election Day holiday, an end to aggressive purging of voter rolls, an end to gerrymandering, and more national efforts to make voting easier for American citizens. Every Democrat in the House voted for the bill. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the minority leader… Read more »

With the introduction of new tax and health care related legislation and a recent announcement by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. federal government appears to have taken some steps towards equality for Puerto Rico. On March 7, Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) filed a bill which would give parents in Puerto… Read more »

Tulsi Gabbard “natural born citizen” POTUS eligible – Here’s why! U.S. military veteran, Member of Congress from Hawaii, presidential candiate,Tulsi Gabbard, was born in the tiny overseas island territory of American Samoa.  Americans born in that territory have U.S. nationality but not citizenship.  The local government and people so far have not petitioned Congress for… Read more »

Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) has issued a report with recommendations to help Puerto Rico in four key areas: disaster relief, economic development, debt reform and Medicaid. The report, based on communications with leaders from Puerto Rico and members of Florida’s Puerto Rican community, is intended to be the Congressman’s recovery blueprint for the U.S. territory…. Read more »

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello has been sending a message to his fellow Democrats as the number of Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential race continues to rise: which side are you on? In a tweet, Rossello said that the people of Puerto Rico “will not support vague statements.” In a video clip included in… Read more »

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have released a report detailing how child poverty in the United States could be cut in half in just a decade. Congress requested the report, which outlines four different paths. Two of the four programs would cut the child poverty rate by 50%, at a cost of… Read more »