As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico has some of the rights and responsibilities that the 50 States have. For example, working people in Puerto Rico pay Social Security and payroll taxes just as residents of States do, but they do not get equal benefits. One of the differences between Puerto Rico… Read more »
Puerto Ricans will vote for the president and vice-president of the United States beginning in 2020 under a territorial law signed Saturday. The vote will not count in deciding the winners of the elections but it could have a slight influence in determining the candidates who win Florida’s important Electoral Votes. There may now be… Read more »
The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has prepared a fact sheet for Florida’s new residents from Puerto Rico in response to reports of displaced individuals experiencing difficulty in obtaining health care services despite the fact that they were enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare back in Puerto Rico. The fact sheet was issued in… Read more »
Congressional leaders announced today a deal on a landmark federal tax reform proposal that restructures both corporate and individual income tax obligations but does not contain relief for hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. When asked about Puerto Rico’s lack of inclusion in the tax package, House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady explained… Read more »
Two of Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) former chiefs of staff, Cesar Conda and Alberto Martinez, make the case as to “Why Washington should finally make Puerto Rico a state” as first reported in POLITICO. The former senior staffers to one of only only a few Hispanic Senators reiterate the moral grounds: civil rights, support of the… Read more »
On October 3, Senator Bill Nelson introduced S. 1907. His introductory remarks follow. A copy of the bill can be read by clicking here. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): Mr. President, I am the Senator from Florida, along with my colleague Marco Rubio. We, of course, have been at the forefront of this terrible tragedy that… Read more »
Stamp designer Rex Davenport has an innovative idea for fundraising for disaster support in Puerto Rico: a fundraising stamp. This isn’t a completely new idea. There is a fundraising stamp for breast cancer research, for example, which has raised more than $85 million for the National Institutes of Health and the Medical Research Program at… Read more »
Vice President Mike Pence will visit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands today, accompanied by the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón (R-PR), and Rep. Stephanie Plaskett (D-USVI). Before arriving at both islands, Vice President Pence visited Orlando, accompanied by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-FL), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and gave… Read more »
On October 3, Senator Bill Nelson introduced S. 1907. His introductory remarks follow. A copy of the bill can be read by clicking here. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): Mr. President, I am the Senator from Florida, along with my colleague Marco Rubio. We, of course, have been at the forefront of this terrible tragedy that… Read more »
President Trump has received a lot of criticism for the slow federal response to the damage resulting from Hurricane Maria’s landfall in Puerto Rico. Hillary Clinton suggested that Trump was unaware (as are roughly half of Americans, according to some polls) that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Trump himself explained that Puerto Rico is “an… Read more »
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