Bilingualism: Is It Really a Problem?
Updated 7/30/2020 If Puerto Rico chooses statehood in the November Plebiscite, it will be one of only three states to have two official languages (Hawaii’s… Read More »Bilingualism: Is It Really a Problem?
Updated 7/30/2020 If Puerto Rico chooses statehood in the November Plebiscite, it will be one of only three states to have two official languages (Hawaii’s… Read More »Bilingualism: Is It Really a Problem?
The Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives voted on April 25 to cut Medicaid funding in the U.S. territories by 65% while leaving Medicaid funding in the fifty states intact, providing a real life example of what it means to lack representation in Congress.Read More »Medicaid Cuts in the U.S. Territories
Since 1917, Puerto Rican rum has had an excise tax imposed when sold in the U.S., and the U.S. government has sent roughly the same amount of money back to Puerto Rico. In recent years, this “cover-over,” as it’s called, has amounted to about half a billion dollars a year for Puerto Rico. The U.S. Virgin Islands gets the same deal, but they’ve received only a fraction of the income from it — about 20% as much as Puerto Rico.
In an effort to catch up, the Virgin Islands offered Diageo PLC part of the cover-over if they’d move their distillery from Ponce to St. Croix. They agreed, leaving a 6th generation rum company devastated.
The British company, which makes Captain Morgan rum, will cost Puerto Rico about $140 million this year — money that went toward schools, health care, and the island’s infrastructure.Read More »The Rum Wars
Statements by National, State and Grassroots Leaders on the Need to Honor Self Determination for Puerto Rico The obligation of the United States to honor… Read More »Self Determination for Puerto Rico
The United States has an obligation to resolve Puerto Rico’s status as a territory of the United States
The U.S. took possession of Puerto Rico through war. Almost 110 years later, the United States citizens of Puerto Rico still do not have voting representation in a government that makes and implements their national laws. The historical underpinnings of the U.S. and our efforts to bring democracy around the world are inconsistent with the lack of a democratic form of government in Puerto Rico at the national level.Read More »The United States Has an Obligation
The Enactment of the Commonwealth Constitution: The Confusion Begins Puerto Rico is often called a commonwealth, but “Commonwealth” is actually just a word in the… Read More »The Evolving Definition of the Puerto Rican “Commonwealth”
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. Its residents are United States citizens, but they have no voting rights or representation in the government that makes and implements their national laws, and they are not treated equally in federal programs. This unequal treatment violates the most basic principles of equal citizenship in the United States. It is also inconsistent with our international commitments to advance democracy, suffrage and self-determination around the world.Read More »An Issue for all Americans: Puerto Rican Self-Determination
The answer to this broad question is, “maybe yes and maybe no.” As “statutory citizens,” the nearly four million Americans born in Puerto Rico might not be considered “natural born,” a Constitutional requirement to become President of the United States. Let’s look at a few cases!Read More »Can a Puerto Rican Become President Of The United States?
Recognition by National, State and Grassroots Leaders Presidents of the United States President-elect Barack Obama, letter to Rep. Luis Fortuño, January 2, 2009. I… Read More »Congress Has an Obligation to Resolve Puerto Rico’s Status as a Territory of the United States