CBS News - March 28, 2019
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday that would admit Puerto Rico into the union as the 51st state without a referendum on the island's territorial status.
The bill was unveiled by Florida Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat who represents parts of Orlando and its large Puerto Rican community, during a press conference in Washington attended by the island's Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, a vocal supporter of Puerto Rican statehood. If enacted, the legislation would automatically trigger the island's admission into the union, bypassing any referendum.
"I'm exited about the possibility of finally ending this historic injustice. It's time for all Puerto Ricans to be united behind a noble and Democratic effort," Soto said alongside Rosselló, local Puerto Rican leaders and Reps. Ruben Gallego, Jamie Raskin, Don Young and Jenniffer González-Colón, the island's non-voting delegate. "It's time to let the old battle lines fade away. It's time to end 120 years of colonialism."
In the past seven years, the Puerto Rican government has held two referendums on the status of the island. In both cases, voters chose statehood, but because any change in status requires Congressional approval, the results were symbolic.
Boycotted by one of the main political parties and other groups, the last referendum in 2017 was marred by historically low turnout.
Although it could secure passage in the Democrat-controlled House, the legislation will almost certainly be opposed by the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Senate. President Trump said last year he is an "absolute no" on Puerto Rican statehood, as long as critics such as San Juan's mayor remain in office.
Democratic backers of the measure said it will allow the party to send a clear message on Puerto Rico during a time when they believe the federal government is mistreating the U.S. territory, which is still recovering from a pair of powerful storms and grappling with decades of financial instability....
...Asked if it was problematic to cite the results of the 2017 referendum given the low turn out, Rosselló told CBS News the bill "ratifies" the will of the Puerto Rican people.
"Every time we start approaching a resolution to the status issue, a new excuse comes about," he said, touting the victories for the statehood options in the last two plebiscites.
"What we hope to avoid is this never-ending obstacle-imposing path towards equality for the people of Puerto Rico," he said, adding that opponents of Puerto Rican statehood should state clearly why they don't want "equality" for the island.
For decades, the Caribbean island has faced a perpetual struggle over questions of self-determination, which dates back to the late 19th century, when the U.S. acquired the territory after the Spanish-American War....
