House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) will lead a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, including Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), in discussions in Puerto Rico on a recently released Puerto Rico status proposal. The legislators will be in the U.S. territory from June 2 through June 4, 2022.
On June 3, the group will meet with elected leaders of Puerto Rico’s five registered political parties. On Saturday, June 4, they will hold an open forum for individuals and organizations, including the press. The group’s plans for June 2 have not been publicly announced.
Rep. Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) will also be part of the group. Any remaining members have not yet been announced.
“The Puerto Rican people do not want to be a colony, and the United States of America does not want to be a colonialist power,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said at a press conference upon introducing the discussion draft.”This legislation seeks to address that issue.”
“To be clear,” Grijalva said at the same press conference, “no vote on the House floor should occur before receiving input from the people of Puerto Rico, so that is the process we are embarking on now.”
