After holding the first hearing on two congressional projects around the status of Puerto Rico, Congressman Raúl Grijalva assured that there is wide division on the island and in Congress on the country’s political future.
The Natural Resources Committee held a marathon hearing today in which the projects of the House of Representatives 1522 -authored by Congressman Darren Soto and resident commissioner Jenniffer González- and the 2070 project -from the authored by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-. The first proposes the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the United States after the holding of a second state consultation whether or not. While the second legislative measure aims to create a Status Convention in which delegates will be elected who will discuss the status options that will be presented as alternatives to people in a referendum.
“There is division, no doubt. Not only in Puerto Rico in terms of status opinion, but also in Congress. There is a difference in the Senate and the House. But continuing with these discussions is critical. They like it. or not, Congress plays an important role in this discussion, ”said Grijalva, who chairs the committee that handles the island’s affairs in Congress.
As part of the discussion of this measure, Grijalva said he has consulted with the administration of President Joe Biden to clarify the position on the validity of the consultation held in the last election in November where the state obtained 52% of the vote. He also indicated that he asked the federal Department of Justice to express itself around two legislative projects.
In the middle of the hearing, congressmen like Democrat Rubén Gallego and Republican Bruce Westerman show their support for the 1522 project that proposes the admission of Puerto Rico as a state. While others like Rep. Ed Casi showed concern about the figure that earned the statehood in November.
While González, in his different turn during the hearing, focused most of his questions on Professor Ponsa-Kraus in which they questioned the constitutionality of the 2070 project of Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez.
In his speech, Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia defended the results of the consultation held in November and advocated that Congress support the 1522 bill that promotes the admission of Puerto Rico as a state.
“This is not the time for another long and complicated process to debate options. Voters have spoken out clearly and it is time for Congress to accept these results,” the governor said during his opening speech.
During the hearing, each project had four witnesses in favor. The 1522 project was defended by Pierluisi; Johanne Vélez, vice president of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico; José Fuentes, President of the Council of State and Columbia University Professor Christina Ponsa Kraus. While for the 2070 project they were in favor, the former governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá; the former candidate for mayor of San Juan by the Victòria Ciutadana Movement, Manuel Natal; the president of the House of Representatives, Rafael ‘Tatito’ Hernández and the senator of the Puerto Rican Independentista Party (PIP), Maria de Lourdes Santiago.
The hearing was marked by constant clashes and criticism between which project had more democratic guarantees. Proponents of the 1522 project thundered against the Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez project, calling it undemocratic and a project that ignores the results of the November referendum.
Acevedo Vilá, in the middle of the hearing, mentioned on several occasions that the legislation that promoted the consultation of status in November 2020 was designed by a majority of the New Progressive Party (PNP) and that it excluded minorities legislative of the time. “The whole design of this legislation was to favor one side,” she commented to questions from Congresswoman Velázquez.
The former governor and ex-candidate for the resident police station, in addition, raised that the status in the island continues being a polarizing discussion and that the estadidad does not enjoy a clear majority as their defenders argue. He indicated that the study that a study by Hart Research launched that, in the younger generations between 18-34 years of age, support for stadiums is reduced to 34%. While support for other options such as free association and independence increases to 20% and 15%, respectively.
For his part, Natal pointed out that the 2070 project provides a “level playing field” unlike the 1522 project, which he proposed places Puerto Rico in a situation of insubordination. He also mentioned that during the last elections some 18,000 excess ballots were identified in relation to the state consultation whether or not.
They question the constitutionality of the 2070 project
González, for his part, questioned on several occasions the constitutionality of the 2070 project as it provides that status options that have already been rejected by Congress could be discussed. Likewise, Professor Ponsa-Krause also mentioned that the 2070 project brings to the discussion table alternatives of status that have been discarded and that could not be endorsed by Congress. “What is urgent is that the people of Puerto Rico cannot be fooled into believing that they can select options that they don’t really have,” he said, who rejected free association as a status option because it is a form of independence.
Ponsa-Kraus, when asked by Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman, also criticized Velázquez’s draft as an attempt to force a future Congress to adopt a joint resolution on status options and what arises from a negotiation with the delegates proposed by the measure.
Vela’zquez defended in several occasions his legislative piece and commented that the estadidad is not excluded from this proposal. “This measure is a way to empower the Puerto Rican people to finally decide their political future … I don’t understand why they are afraid of this measure as it does not leave out the status quo,” he said.
In his speech, the governor downplayed that the state had not obtained a broader result during the November consultation and said that “the majority rules.” “As in any democracy, as Puerto Rico is, most rule. That’s how democracies work around the world,” he said. In addition, he argued that the November consultation was an inclusive one and rejected the approaches of Acevedo Vilá and Natal around the lack of representation in this process. “This consultation could not have been more inclusive,” he added.
Prior to giving his turn to Velázquez, the Hawaiian congressman, Casi, stated that while he favored the statehood for the island, he considered that the result he obtained in November was very low compared to those in Hawaii and Alaska. “I am inclined to favor the Soto and González project … But I would love for the support for the stadium to be higher. In this case, it would have been much easier,” the congressman commented.
During the hearing, Hernandez was the only witness who did not receive questions from congressmen.