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Washington dc- The next chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Democrat Joe Manchin (West Virginia), said today that he does not have enough information to issue an opinion on statehood proposals for Puerto Rico and Washington DC
Manchin, however, has reiterated that he will not support eliminating the rule of filibusterism, which requires 60 of the 100 votes in the Senate to succeed in bringing a measure to a final vote.
Senator Manchin, who will chair the Senate committee with primary jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, was initially asked on CNN if he would support the statehood for Washington DC. “I don’t know enough, I want to know the pros and cons. I want to see all the data. I’m open to seeing everything,” Manchin said.
When asked the same question about Puerto Rico, Manchin replied, “Same thing, I need more data on that.”
Starting Jan. 21, once President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris take office, the Senate will remain under Democrat control. Harris, as president of the Senate, will be the 51st vote to break ties, as after Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff’s victories in Georgia, in second rounds in Georgia, Democrats will have 50 senators and Republicans 50.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (New York) recently told The New Day that the November 3 referendum – in which the statehood won 52.5% – reflected that the Puerto Ricans remain divided over the issue of the island’s political future and is awaiting consensus around a “fair trial.”
“Puerto Ricans are the ones who have to decide the political status of the island and Congress has to respect the will of the people. I’m listening to leaders from all over Puerto Rico, New York and the island, and there is no consensus yet, there is division. I am waiting for that consensus to pass. I think I should not impose my views, but wait for a consensus to evolve. And that’s all I’m saying about the state. If there is a strong consensus I will follow it in whatever direction it takes, “Schumer said in an interview with the media.
Last week, Washington-based commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez said she hopes Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, as the top Democratic-linked elected official, will get Schumer “You may be right.”
Since August 2013, following the 2012 plebiscite, the U.S. Senate has not convened a hearing to examine the debate on the island’s political status.
In the lower house, there has been no public hearing on the state since 2015.
The chairman of the House of Commons Natural Resources Committee, Democrat Raul Grijalva (Arizona), has indicated in The New Day after the November plebiscite he will not prevent a statehood proposal for the island, but warned that he must have chances of success to move forward and urged Commissioner Gonzalez to seek Republican support.
Voting status for Washington DC
The Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives has indicated that it will re-vote on the bill to turn Washington DC into state 51, which was approved, with only Democratic votes, in June 2020, but never advanced. in the Senate.
The new legislation in favor of the state for Washington DC already has 202 co-sponsors, without the support of speaker Nancy Pelosi. Democrats have 222 lawmakers in the lower house.
In the Senate, the Republican leadership – led by Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) – has rejected the status quo for Puerto Rico. McConnell sees statehood initiatives for Washington DC and Puerto Rico as part of the Democrats’ “radical socialist agenda.” Commissioner Gonzalez has not specified whether she has had the meeting with McConnell she has sought since the senator ruled out in the summer of 2019 the statehood for the island.
Democrats who advocated for statehood for Puerto Rico generally thought that statehood would help them control the Senate, given the clear trend in favor of Puerto Rican Democrats living in the United States.