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President Gerald Ford, Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, Submitting Proposed Puerto Rico Statehood Legislation

President Gerald Ford, Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, Submitting Proposed Puerto Rico Statehood Legislation, January… Read More »President Gerald Ford, Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, Submitting Proposed Puerto Rico Statehood Legislation

President Bill Clinton, Remarks on the United States – Puerto Rico Political Status Act (H.R. 856)

President Bill Clinton, Remarks on the United States – Puerto Rico Political Status Act (H.R. 856), Democratic Governors’ Association Dinner, February 23, 1998.  This is the centennial year of Puerto Rico’s affiliation with the United States.  And I think that it is time that we responded to the aspirations of the 4 million U.S. citizens who live there and allow them to determine their ultimate political status.Read More »President Bill Clinton, Remarks on the United States – Puerto Rico Political Status Act (H.R. 856)

President Bill Clinton, News Conference in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, February 16, 2000.

President Bill Clinton, News Conference on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, February 16, 2000.  Q.  [D]o you believe in your heart that Puerto Rico’s colonial status is the root of this problem [the local discontent with Navy bombing and military exercises on the island] or is [it] related to Puerto Ricans’ ambivalence to issues of national security?Read More »President Bill Clinton, News Conference in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, February 16, 2000.

Statehood: Is Now the Best Chance?

The possibility of Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly supporting Statehood has never been more of a reality than in today’s political environment. A November 2006 telephone poll of residents of the island showed when faced with the decision, 74% would choose Statehood over the 12% in favor of Independence. With 65% of respondents favorable to Luis Fortuño winning PNP’s gubernatorial race in 2008, “now” may very well be Puerto Rico’s best chance at moving towards true representation in Washington.Read More »Statehood: Is Now the Best Chance?

The 1998 Plebiscite Revisited

It has been 6 1/2 years since the residents of Puerto Rico went to the polls to express a preference for a permanent political status.

On that occasion, the status definitions offered to voters were lifted from a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 856), the so-called “Young Bill.” The U.S. Senate took no floor action on HR 856, but did pass Senate Resolution #279 authorizing Puerto Rico, “through referendum or other means, to communicate its desires on future political status to the federal government, and that the federal government will consider such communication.”Read More »The 1998 Plebiscite Revisited