Congressional bill calls for preliminary plebiscite
Robert Friedman/Puerto Rico Daily Sun
San Juan, Puerto Rico - May 17, 2009
WASHINGTON - The status bill that will be introduced
next week in the U.S. House will call for a preliminary
plebiscite on the current relationship before voters get
to choose a final status, according to Puerto Rico
Federal Affairs Administration Director Richard
Figueroa.
Puerto Rican born Congressman, José Serrano
(D-NY) introduced bill
HR-900 on April, 2007. Another bill to be
introduced next week has similar
language calling for a "territory: yes or
no" referendum. On this speech,
Serrano accurately describes how difficult it is
for Congress to consider a
"territorial enhaced commonwealth" option as a
status solution for Puerto Rico.
While Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi has kept
mum on the details of his bill, Figueroa, writing in the
Orlando Sentinel, appeared to disclose the salient
provision when he called for President Obama and
Congress to "unequivocally support" the legislation.
"A vote should be held on whether or not to continue
their [Puerto Rico's] cutrent disenfranchised
territorial status," the PRFAA chief said in a column
published Thursday in the Florida newspaper.
"Should the people of Puerto Rico decide in that vote
that 111 years of territorial status is enough for a
transition to a fully representative government, then
they would be ready for the next step," Figueroa wrote.
He added: "Next would be to offer. Puerto Ricans the
non-territorial political status choices that are
available and are sanctioned by the United Nations for
territories: integration (statehood), independence and
free association (i.e. a relationship negotiated between
mutually sovereign equals.)"
The Popular Democratic Party has said it would
strongly oppose any new status bill that calls first for
a yes-or-no plebiscite on the current U.S.--Puerto Rico
relationship. If a majority votes for a change, the PDP
is concerned that the current commonwealth relationship
or an improved version would not be a choice for voters
in a second plebiscite.
PDP President Hector Ferrer has asked Pierluisi to
hold up on the bill until the populares are invited to
talks and a consensus is reached on the measure.
But the resident commissioner appears ready to
introduce the bill, possibly as early as Monday or
Tuesday.
The Acevedo Vila administration played a key role in
keeping the status bill introduced in the last Congress
from reaching a floor vote in the House. Its officials
are expected to again call on allies in Congress to
oppose the legislation.
