testing ladies and gentlemen you see everyone can i have all the witnesses you please so we can get as many people in here as possible thank you very much a committee on natural resources will come to order please the committee is meeting today to commence with the consideration of h r twenty four ninety nine the puerto rico democracy act of two thousand  introduced by our colleague from puerto rico very dear friend and valued member of our committee pedro very closely i would like to start out this morning by recognizing the great contribution that to people of puerto rico have made to the defense of the united states to the families who also a husband a father a daughter or son in our wars i would take this moment to salute each of you we can debate political status but what is not subject of debate is the patriotism of the people of puerto rico three long history with the american family has been significant ceded by spain as a result of war puerto rico was one of the first areas outside of the continental us where the american flag was right to the united states it marked a mouse stone in our own political development when our union of states was comprised of renegade english colonies we then stepped into a role that we previously had fought against given our own experience would anyone have imagined that our new colony would be disenfranchised and kept on equal in our political framework our commitment to puerto rico's advancement of the eighteen ninety eight treaty of paris would be  a measure of success is today puerto rico and puerto rico has done well by the united states it is a showcase of democracy in the caribbean having some of the voter turnout rates in rights in our nation puerto rico shayne's many of our states with its energy and enthusiasm in electing its leaders economically it is a powerhouse in the caribbean and considered a home away from home for many mainland fortune five hundred companies equal in importance to puerto rico's political and economic prowess is alan's contributions to our own social fabric every aspect of american art music and sport has been influenced by puerto rico's own culture and by its people and beyond such contributions there remains puerto rico's patriotism beginning in war one when thousands of puerto ricans were serving in our u s military there is no doubt that many more thousands are currently serving in our armed forces fighting our wars and dying for our country the committee convenes this morning because in spite of what we have gained from each other there has been no ultimate achievement in puerto rico's political status sites and one referendum but none of them were sanctioned by the congress of the united states going back to the one nine hundred seventy s at least forty have been introduced in the congress to resolve the clear or clarify puerto rico's political status in addition congress has had at least twelve hearings in four measures every other house or senate action in the last congress a bush administration issued the president's task force on puerto rico's status which served as a basis for legislation introduced by our former colleague political status that is consistent with the us constitution when this committee considers similar legislation in the last congress we exhausted really examine the question of the constitutionality of the various status options available under the constitution what emerged from that process was a clear consensus that settled on a permanent that settled on the permanent status options that are reflected in the bill we are considering today the resident commissioner is to be congratulated for carefully crafting a bill that seeks to quote authorize a fair impartial and democratic process for self determination for the people of puerto rico today's meeting the committee is to hear from the political leaders from the out of puerto rico i want to welcome our our witnesses especially our former colleagues the current when dealing with this issue but self determination is a basic right to be addressed no matter how difficult and mr chairman through this bill congress would formally  you well thank you very much mr chairman i've had the great privilege of visiting puerto rico on three different occasions over the years and i think it is a wonderful place and the people have been so kind to me  two votes why you don't just put one simple thing out there statehood commonwealth independence just plain and simple one one vote and then i do have some concern i have read or heard or read over the years you know i can get abuse in other places besides now i just want to i want to appreciate being here i appreciate pedro what he is doing here and i just want to welcome the governor of puerto rico back it's just not the same with since your office was shorts without objection all members of course will have the usual opportunity marks in the record and will proceed now with our first panel the first panel composed of two of our distinguished colleagues f selo thank you very much all of you for this hearing and for the hard work that the governor's put into this puerto rico has been a u s territory for one hundred and eleven years and is the longest existing u s territory puerto ricans have water in all our wars as proud u s citizens in fact puerto ricans have sent more of their sons and daughters to serve in the united states military than all but one other state in the whole union puerto rico was a very special and significant part of the makeup of this great nation and as i've been saying for years i believe that they deserve the opportunity to express their status preference in relation to the united states to this past one hundred eleven years we've been debating what to do about puerto rico whether continue to be a u s territory or whether we should allow the people of puerto rico to work with congress to determine whether they would like to i have a more permanent status we have never given the people of puerto rico an opportunity to declare their preference in this democratic way and that's why i am a strong supporter of h r twenty four ninety nine the puerto rico democracy act of two thousand and nine that my friend resident commissioner commissioner federal pear lucy has introduced the puerto rico democracy act of two thousand and nine is a fair and democratic piece of legislation in simple terms a bill provides the four million people of puerto rico with a chance to determine their own fate t two part popular vote or plebiscite during the first part of the puerto rican people will vote on whether to preserve the status quo and remain a u s territory a path toward permanent non territorial status should they decide to go forth with the latter option the second plebiscite would present them with the choice of independence sovereignty and association or to become the fifty first state of the united states if the puerto rican people wish to maintain current territorial status but we will continue to poll the people of puerto rico in years to come to make sure that that's still what they want this bill doesn't force them into anything that they do not want or something that they may regret  fifteen years later and that's why i support this bill congress should not dictate to the people of puerto rico what is best for them the people themselves must be allowed to decide their fate congress doesn't face the same realities day in and day out that the people of puerto rico face realities like serving in the united states military without being able to elect the commander in chief and i just like to make a comment about that for people to serve in this country and give their lives and risked their lives and put their families through all kinds of heartache and not be able to vote for the commander in chief i think is just almost criminal many men and women from puerto rico have given their lives for american freedom but don't have the opportunity to vote for their president and although congress makes laws and puerto rico they have no voting representation our role in puerto rico is to be sure that the puerto rican people are able to determine exactly what it is they want to do with their great island it is our responsibility to ensure the self determination process is free and fair we need to provide the puerto rican people the same chance for the full democracy we had for the rest of the world but first we need to allow them to tell us how and what they want to do about going about getting it and with that mr chairman thank you very much i'll be happy to answer any question chairman appreciate the opportunity today to testify before the committee about this important matter i'm proud to be one of the original co sponsors of the puerto rico democracy act of two thousand and nine this legislation about is about what is right and about what is fair under this legislation voters will be asked by congress whether they wish to maintain puerto rico's present form if a majority of the voters cast their ballots in favor of different political status the government will be authorized to conduct  second vote among three options independence statehood or sovereignty in association with the united states since ninety eight residents of puerto rico have been deprived of full and equal political representation though its residents are american citizens the island is not a state and its residents have no equal voting representation in congress given a choice puerto ricans might opt to change the situation some in puerto rico might opt for statehood for the island some might opt for independence and some for sovereign association but puerto ricans have never been invited by congress to make this choice they're american citizens but they are deprived of their fundamental voting rights if puerto rico were a state it would have six representatives in congress instead of only one who cannot be the deciding vote on the floor of the house if one or weaker were state it would have two senators instead of none if puerto rico were a state their people could help to choose our president now they cannot host a policy decisions are made in puerto rico's name on behalf of puerto rico's people without their full and equal input or consent this is deeply deeply unfair whether puerto ricans decide in favor not there is an existing inequality that needs to be addressed the people of puerto rico could have more representatives and congress and they have today with or without statehood why do not represent puerto rico there is a very large puerto rican population in  and i'm here because the people of puerto rico have the right to full and equal representation residents of lay down their lives in the sense of american democratic values for over nine decades in that time they have never been given the chance to express their views about their political relationship with united states by means of a fair neutral and democratic process sponsored by congress this must change our history our american history is a history of progress equality diversity and tolerance originally our constitution provided that black slaves counted as only three fifths of a human being we needed to fight a civil war to change that and that in one thousand nine hundred fifty eight with mid  the first state that was a state most of those people are not white now we have a supreme court nominee who is a puerto rican and we have our first african american president this is our progress toward equality governor we're happy to have you with us today we appreciate your many visits back to your old stomping grounds to work on this issue and your dedicated leadership on behalf of the people of puerto rico we do have your prepared testimony will be made part of the record is a of h r twenty four ninety nine the puerto rico democracy act of two thousand and nine chairman before you was governor of puerto rico as you know i'm also president of the new progressive party which advocates as a final democracy i also want to thank commend restaurant commissioner release for his leadership in introducing this bill thus bringing his four million strong constituency these enfranchise american citizens one step closer to true self determination as you know the right of the u s citizens of puerto rico to decide her political future was one of my priorities when i served in congress on this committee from two thousand and five until last year when i was elected governor nation continues to sanction an arrangement of governance over four million of its citizens that is a warrant to the sacred principles enshrined in the declaration because of the anachronistic survival of the territory clause of the constitution that quandary of american democracy must come to an end it is the right thing to do and the time to do it is now whatever may have been the role of these aerial system in the birth and growth of our nation the fact is that our founding fathers towns that it as a permanent way of governance with a failed government over the citizens of the republic more importantly clearly offends the values of american democracy in the twenty first century specially after congress has allowed such congress has never formally gone sold at us about our preferences regarding the island's political status not once with this bill it would it should it's the right thing to do so surely puerto ricans have expressed their views on the island political status question before in fact some members may think that that's all we do when we come here indeed for far too long while congress has had to do is listen purposely from time to time but he has never asked directly the four million us citizens in puerto rico what they think and asking makes all the difference in the world getting best you in the process in a way that just listening does not what are we going to have made myriad contributions to the nation both in peace and in war time as thousands of our sons daughters have laid down their lives in defense of my merican values for over nine decades yet we have never been given the chance to express our views about our political relationship with the united states in the context of a fair neutral and democratic national standard continues to be a source of bitter disappointment these economic reality translate into human discouragement over our realize dreams that you had to force thousands of my constituents every month to move to the mainland in search of better  at home forges of the u s leading by example by holding itself to the same standards the demands of others no less applicable in the case of puerto rico if anything anything more so precisely because puerto rican are proud thousand and eight where actually it states very clearly there are only three options are acceptable on the us constitution one he stated on their extremely successful examples of that there is independence and there are over two hundred samples of that so are successful some are not and then the third one is in free association with the united states which means that it could be unilaterally terminable by either side and that's very clear and actually three different enemies on the republican and democrat the justice department and this congress has stated so clearly i will go even further in this bill twenty four ninety nine there are three options if we decide we want change rico stated very clearly that they were moving in that direction and actually the language in this bill is taken from their platform so it is taken for what they proposed to the people of puerto rico less than a year ago i would hope that he would not come here today response on that and i thank you for that question first of all mr burleson and i in our respective campaigns stated that we wanted the people to express themselves directly through the ballot box the same way we do it here in every state in the same way we have  actually put this morning actually we have contributed more of our men and women in uniform to war than any other state but one and every time i will sit here and i will leave  governor first i'd like to welcome you as a former colleague governor we worked on many projects here in the house of representatives in fact we were co chair of the congressional art awards and that's ongoing right now  i also have my welcome to all of the party leaders and legislators from puerto rico with travel to testify today and to share with us on behalf of the people of puerto rico their insights and views on this most important issue i spanish american war which a moral people of why represent like our brothers and sisters in puerto rico are awaiting of their political aspirations and an opportunity to fully exercise right to self determination this hearing affords us the opportunity once again to learn of the current views of the leaders of puerto rico on this issue congress must be responsive to the view of the people puerto rico and this committee holds the institutional obligation for the faithful discharge of the constitutional responsibility to address the political status of puerto rico and other territories under article four of the united states constitution congress has historically given greater attention to addressing the status issue for puerto rico it is apparent given this track record in the political reality that guam status commonwealth to look at it that's what it is and that's why they don't want to tell the people what it is which is a colony why should congress allow them any more room to misrepresent their options now the time has come for the united states  of statehood and independence forces will create a narrow majority against the second round will be then a runoff election not in the traditional sense of a runoff between two weeks in the two most options in the first round members of the committee what i'm saying is that yes shame that people come here to this congress asking for statehood based on disenfranchising the majority of the voters what our way of asking for statehood on behalf rivera senate president senate puerto rico the honorable jose l l myles santiago minority leader senate puerto rico the honorable jennifer the second panel please be seated and in the interest of time we do have a five minute rule so if you can reduce your statement to about five minutes and i would like to remind you that your full written statement will be entered into the record and before we begin i would like to ask the committee that a statement from a group called english first would be entered into the record as well as a written statement from the honorable hold upon her not be entered into the record i have no objection order i'd like at this time now to recognize the senate president the senate the honorable thomas same things we were discussing twenty years ago and i'm sure some folks like when he was here forty years ago discussing exactly the same issues last the last four years i met with so many of you as i was a representative of the governor of puerto rico here in washington d c and many of you would generally ask me to very same question which is what should be the position of the united states congress not the regards of puerto rico and i think the answer rests on who principles that truly represent the democratic aspirations of the people of puerto rico whether one likes it or not whether one thinks about it or not puerto rico is a nation from a some people's ears i don't know why the truth of the matter is that if puerto rico became a state and i think it could become a state it would be a nation becoming a state and that's not of this is your for puerto ricans to make is that it falls over the united states to make when it makes but is there a way of reconciling the fact that you are a nation with u s citizenship how do you balance both issues and that's exactly what the people of puerto rico are asking us to do reconciling now th reconciled with u s citizenship in puerto rico and i would yours and mine i'm sure a woman with i would say five lessons quickly five lessons that we've learned over the last maybe fifty years forty years thirty years first the recognition that puerto rico has to be inserted somewhere in the process second yes u s citizenship is very very important for many reasons to all puerto all the process and he doesn't have the support of us single other than the rest commissioner a single puerto rican member of congress i think the fact that they are not here today says millions about this bill also the fact that the white house is not here today speaks volumes of the lack of support to the process that wants to be established through twenty four ninety nine think the problem is and i think it's you know and i love it i would finish with this brawl with twenty four ninety nine is when you have when you're in the center when you're in the middle in any political fight it's obviously the left on the maybe three or four view that it goes back decades and decades and so all of that leads me to be extremely humble about how we should approach this the main crux of the of the problem right now is to find their way and i think that is why we have suggested that congressman we have a constitutional convention conversations with the united states with a word a white house participates actively there is certainly a problem when we are not validating the existence of federal laws in puerto rico i think kamel us as a structural we have to find a consent to be governed and to be part of the united states and i think that consent is at the crux of this issue otherwise the label of colony the label of territory label of  this panel but the previous panel also very passionate and listening here and everybody's views on this it reminds me so much of my home because we still have an unsettled status question and we've been agonizing over this for many many years just like you so it seems that is territory we always have to work a little bit harder for everything i've found this average ever since i entered congress so i want to thank you all and to remind you that the hearing record will be open for ten days so if there are any further questions that the committee members have this will remain open and we can  wait for your answers to the questions and i want to thank all of the witnesses again and i want to thank members of this committee for their long hours that they spent in this hearing and there being no further business