Contact: Emile Milne/Robin M. Peguero 202 225-4365, Elbert Garcia 212 663-3900

Congressman Charles B. Rangel released the following statement Friday after the House voted 223-169 on Thursday to pass the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, establishing the right of the Puerto Rican people to vote on their political status:

“As a friend of Puerto Rico for all of my 40 years in Congress, it always struck me as unfair that Puerto Ricans are treated as Americans when they are drafted or volunteer to defend this great country, when they pay taxes to our government, when they die in defense of the American flag − but in terms of health care, education, and jobs, you wouldn’t know it. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, yet they have no vote in presidential elections, no representation in the Senate, and only one representative in the House with limited voting power. If Puerto Ricans want more, then they deserve it. But it can’t be mandated for them. They must choose it for themselves.

The Puerto Rico Democracy Act reaffirms the principles of self-determination and allows the people to decide their political future in a democratic vote. In a vote that will be taken every eight years, the Puerto Rican people will get to choose between keeping their current status and changing it. If they vote to change it, a second vote will decide whether the country ought to become independent, become a state, a sovereign nation in free association with the United States, or to continue its current political status. The last option, incorporated through an amendment that was presented on the floor of the House, was important to my vote because it presents an option that has consistently been voted for by the people of Puerto Rico for more than 50 years.

Because of the hard work of so many legislators, I am convinced that the current language reflects and represents the diversity of views on the island regarding their political future. Representative Pedro Pierluisi and his predecessor, current Governor Luis Fortuño, have the interest of the Puerto Rican people and of the United States in mind, and I am confident that they want what is best for both.

This is about the lives and futures of the 4 million Puerto Ricans who reside on the island. No one but the people themselves knows what is in their best interest. So, I say, let’s put it to a vote and allow the Puerto Rican people to control their own destiny.”

AP – From left, Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Chatz, Gov. Luis Fortuno and Resident Commissioner …

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 29, 11:43 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The House on Thursday approved legislation that could set in motion changes in Puerto Rico’s 112-year relationship with the United States, including a transition to statehood or independence. The House bill would give the 4 million residents of the island commonwealth a two-step path to expressing how they envision their political future. It passed 223-169 and now must be considered by the Senate.
Initially, eligible voters, including those born in Puerto Rico but residing in the United States, would vote on whether they wish to keep their current political status or opt for a different direction.
If a majority are in favor of changing the current situation, the Puerto Rican government would be authorized to conduct a second vote and people would choose among four options: statehood, independence, the current commonwealth status or sovereignty in association with the United States. Congress would have to vote on whether Puerto Rico becomes a state.
Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting delegate to the House, said that while the island has had votes on similar issues in the past, Congress has never authorized a process where Puerto Ricans state whether they should remain a U.S. territory or seek a nonterritorial status.
“The American way is to allow people to vote, to express themselves and to tell their elected officials how they feel about their political arrangements,” said Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno at a news conference with Pierluisi. “For 112 years, we haven’t had the chance … to fully participate in one way or another in the decisions that affect our daily lives.”
Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory at the end of the Spanish-American War. Those born on the island were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917 and Puerto Rico gained commonwealth status in 1952.
Today, Puerto Ricans serve in the military but can’t vote in presidential elections. They do not pay federal income tax on income earned on the island.
In the last referendum, “none of the above” garnered 50 percent of the vote, topping the other options, including statehood at 46.5 percent and independence at 2.5 percent.
Some of those differences were evident among lawmakers of Puerto Rican background. Puerto Rico-born Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., whose parents were from Puerto Rico, strongly opposed the measure, saying it was designed to push a statehood agenda. “This is the Puerto Rico 51st state bill,” said Gutierrez, an independence proponent. “The deck is stacked.”
But another Puerto Rico-born lawmaker, Democrat Jose Serrano of New York, backed it. “I support it because for the first time in 112 years the people of Puerto Rico will have an opportunity to express themselves.”
Opposition to the House bill included Republican concerns about the consequences of Puerto Rico, where Spanish, as well as English, is the official language, becoming a state. Republicans said Puerto Rico would get some six seats in the House, possibly at the expense of other states, and that statehood would impose further burdens on the federal Treasury.
Republicans, led by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., unsuccessfully tried to attach a provision that ballots favoring statehood make clear that a Puerto Rican state would adopt English as its official language and abide by Second Amendment gun rights. The proposal was defeated 198-194.
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Associated Press writer Ann Sanner contributed to this report.
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The bill is H.R. 2499
On the Net:
Congress: http://thomas.loc.g

“Once upon a time en el barrio” about the Nationalist Party….”The Sunshines on the other side of the street” starring Tito Puente Jr and Santo Alam the story of gentrification leaving 3 generation homeless… And “Happy House” about teen boys living in a youth house a comedy …The films were directed / written by Juan Shamsul Alam and Emilio Rosa and produced by Taino Rosa Films… Distribution by Amazon.com La Familia applaud
Amazon.com…..Alam’s Play “Short Ice” which made it’s debut in the Bronx at 52 People for Progress Park, will
be filming in June 2010.. Starring Ana Reynoso, Vena Hampton,….The story of women being abused on Rikers Island…..based on a true story 1993….

Owner of El Caney, political activist, Nationalist. May he rest in peace.