I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3024

To provide a process leading to full self-government for Puerto Rico.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 1996

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr.

SERRANO, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. ROMEROBARCELO ́, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr.

CALVERT, Mr. LONGLEY, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. DEUTSCH, and

Mr. KLINK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide a process leading to full self-government for

Puerto Rico.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Policy.

Sec. 4. Process for Puerto Rican full self-government, including the initial decision stage, transition stage, and implementation stage.

Sec. 5. Requirements relating to referenda, including inconclusive referendum

and applicable laws.

Sec. 6. Congressional procedures for consideration of legislation.

Sec. 7. Availability of funds for the referenda.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Puerto Rico is an unincorporated and lo4 cally self-governing territory of the United States,

5 ceded to the United States and under this Nation’s

6 sovereignty pursuant to the Treaty of Paris ending

7 the Spanish-American War in 1898. Article IX of

8 the Treaty of Paris expressly recognizes the author9 ity of Congress to provide for the political status of

10 the inhabitants of the territory.

11 (2) United States citizenship was extended to

12 Puerto Rico in 1917, as well as partial application

13 of the United States Constitution.

14 (3) In the period 1950–1952, Congress author15 ized, amended, and then approved a constitution for

16 Puerto Rico’s local government, which is now called

17 the ‘‘Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’’, without alter18 ing the territory’s fundamental economic, political,

19 and legal relationship with the United States.

20 (4) In the 1989 State of the Union Message,

21 President George Bush urged the Congress to take
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1 the necessary steps to authorize a federally recog2 nized process allowing the people of Puerto Rico, for

3 the first time since the Treaty of Paris entered into

4 force, to freely express their wishes regarding their

5 future political status in a congressionally recognized

6 referendum, a step in the process of self-determina7 tion which the Congress has yet to authorize.

8 (5) In November of 1993, the Government of

9 Puerto Rico conducted a plebiscite initiated under

10 local law on Puerto Rico’s political status. In that

11 vote none of the three status propositions received a

12 majority of the votes cast. The results of that vote

13 were: 48.6 percent commonwealth, 46.3 percent

14 statehood, and 4.4 percent independence.

15 (6) In 1994, President William Jefferson Clin16 ton established the Executive Branch Interagency

17 Working Group on Puerto Rico to coordinate the re18 view, development, and implementation of executive

19 branch administrative policy concerning Puerto Rico

20 in light of the November 1993 plebiscite in the is21 lands.

22 (7) There have been inconsistent and conflicting

23 interpretations of the 1993 plebiscite results, and

24 under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution (ar25 ticle IV, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the au-
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1 thority and responsibility to determine Federal pol2 icy and clarify status issues in order to advance the

3 self-determination process in Puerto Rico.

4 (8) On December 14, 1994, the Puerto Rico

5 Legislature enacted Concurrent Resolution 62, which

6 requested the 104th Congress to respond to the re7 sults of the 1993 Puerto Rico Status Plebiscite and

8 to indicate the next steps in resolving Puerto Rico’s

9 political status.

10 (9) Nearly 4,000,000 United States citizens live

11 in the islands of Puerto Rico, which have been with12 in the American political system and the United

13 States customs territory for almost 100 years, mak14 ing Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and most popu15 lous United States island territory at the southeast16 ern-most boundary of our Nation, located astride the

17 strategic shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean and

18 Caribbean Sea.

19 (10) Full self-government for Puerto Rico is at20 tainable only through establishment of a political

21 status either without or within United States sov22 ereignty, under which Puerto Rico is no longer an

23 unincorporated territory subject to the plenary au24 thority of Congress arising from the Territorial

25 Clause.
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1 SEC. 3. POLICY.

2 In recognition of the significant level of local self-gov3 ernment which has been attained by Puerto Rico, and the

4 desire by both the United States and Puerto Rico to en5 able the people of the territory to achieve full self-govern6 ment through a self-determination process consistent with

7 United States and internationally recognized standards,

8 this Act is adopted with a commitment to encourage the

9 mutual development and implementation of procedures to

10 determine the political status of Puerto Rico.

11 SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR PUERTO RICAN FULL SELF-GOVERN12 MENT, INCLUDING THE INITIAL DECISION

13 STAGE, TRANSITION STAGE, AND IMPLEMEN14 TATION STAGE.

15 (a) INITIAL DECISION STAGE.—A referendum on

16 Puerto Rico’s political status shall be held not later than

17 December 31, 1998. The referendum shall be held in ac18 cordance with the applicable provisions of Puerto Rico’s

19 electoral law and other relevant statutes, and approval

20 must be by a majority of the valid votes cast. The referen21 dum shall be on the following question:

22 ‘‘Which path leading to full self-government for Puer23 to Rico do you prefer to be developed through a transition

24 plan enacted by the Congress and approved by the people

25 of Puerto Rico?
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1 ‘‘(1) A path of separate Puerto Rican sov2 ereignty leading to independence or free association,

3 in which—

4 ‘‘(A) Puerto Rico is a sovereign nation

5 with full authority and responsibility for its in6 ternal and external affairs, exercising in its own

7 name and right the powers of government with

8 respect to its territory and population, language

9 and culture, and determining its own relations

10 and participation in the community of nations;

11 ‘‘(B) a negotiated treaty of friendship and

12 cooperation or an international bilateral pact of

13 free association terminable at will by either

14 Puerto Rico or the United States, defines fu15 ture relations between Puerto Rico and the

16 United States, providing for cooperation and

17 assistance in matters of shared interest as

18 agreed and approved by Puerto Rico and the

19 United States pursuant to this Act and their re20 spective constitutional processes;

21 ‘‘(C) a constitution democratically insti22 tuted by the people of Puerto Rico, establishing

23 a republican form of full self-government and

24 securing the rights of citizens of the Puerto

25 Rican nation, is the supreme law, and the Con-
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1 stitution and laws of the United States no

2 longer apply in Puerto Rico;

3 ‘‘(D) Puerto Rico exercises the sovereign

4 power to determine and control its own nation5 ality and citizenship, and United States nation6 ality and citizenship conferred on the people of

7 Puerto Rico based upon birth in the territory

8 during the period in which the United States

9 exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over

10 Puerto Rico is withdrawn in favor of Puerto

11 Rican nationality and citizenship, and the Unit12 ed States Congress has authority to prescribe

13 criteria for affected individuals to establish eli14 gibility for retention of United States national15 ity and citizenship or naturalization in the

16 United States on a basis which does not create

17 an exception to the establishment and preserva18 tion of separate United States and Puerto

19 Rican nationality and citizenship;

20 ‘‘(E) upon recognition of Puerto Rico by

21 the United States as a sovereign nation and es22 tablishment of government-to-government rela23 tions on the basis of comity and reciprocity,

24 Puerto Rico’s representation to the United

25 States is accorded full diplomatic status;
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1 ‘‘(F) Puerto Rico is eligible for United

2 States assistance provided on a government-to3 government basis, including foreign aid or pro4 grammatic assistance, at levels determined at

5 the discretion of Congress and the President;

6 ‘‘(G) property rights and previously ac7 quired rights vested by employment in Puerto

8 Rico or the United States are honored, and

9 where determined necessary such rights are

10 promptly adjusted and settled consistent with

11 government-to-government agreements imple12 menting the separation of sovereignty; and

13 ‘‘(H) Puerto Rico is outside the customs

14 territory of the United States, and trade be15 tween the United States and Puerto Rico is

16 based on a treaty.

17 ‘‘(2) A path under United States sovereignty

18 leading to statehood, in which—

19 ‘‘(A) the people of Puerto Rico are fully

20 self-governing with their rights secured under

21 the United States Constitution, which is the su22 preme law and has the same force and effect as

23 in the other States of the Union;

24 ‘‘(B) the sovereign State of Puerto Rico is

25 in permanent union with the United States, and
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1 powers not delegated to the Federal Govern2 ment or prohibited to the States by the United

3 States Constitution are reserved to the people

4 of Puerto Rico or the State Government;

5 ‘‘(C) United States citizenship of those

6 born in Puerto Rico is guaranteed and pro7 tected to the same extent as those born in the

8 several States;

9 ‘‘(D) residents of Puerto Rico have equal

10 rights and benefits as well as equal duties and

11 responsibilities of citizenship, including payment

12 of Federal taxes, as those in the several States;

13 ‘‘(E) Puerto Rico is represented in the

14 United States Senate and the House of Rep15 resentatives proportionate to the population;

16 ‘‘(F) Puerto Rico is enfranchised to vote

17 for United States presidential and vice-presi18 dential electors proportionate to the population;

19 and

20 ‘‘(G) Puerto Rico adheres to the same lan21 guage requirement as in the several States.’’.

22 (b) TRANSITION STAGE.—

23 (1) PLAN.—Within 180 days of the receipt of

24 the results of the referendum from the Government

25 of Puerto Rico certifying approval of a ballot choice
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1 in a referendum held pursuant to subsection (a), the

2 President shall submit to Congress legislation for a

3 transition plan of 10 years minimum which leads to

4 full self-government for Puerto Rico consistent with

5 the terms of this Act and in full consultation with

6 leaders of the three branches of the Government of

7 Puerto Rico, the principal political parties of Puerto

8 Rico, and other interested persons as may be appro9 priate.

10 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

11 plan shall be considered by the Congress in accord12 ance with section 6.

13 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

14 (A) Not later than 180 days after enact15 ment of an Act pursuant to paragraph (1) pro16 viding for the transition to full self-government

17 for Puerto Rico as approved in the initial deci18 sion referendum held under subsection (a), a

19 referendum shall be held under the applicable

20 provisions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law on the

21 question of approval of the transition plan.

22 (B) Approval must be by a majority of the

23 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

24 shall be certified to the President of the United

25 States by the Government of Puerto Rico.
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1 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR TRANSITION PLAN.—

2 Upon receipt of the results of the referendum under

3 this subsection certifying approval of the transition

4 plan, the President of the United States shall issue

5 a proclamation announcing the effective date of the

6 transition plan to full self-government for Puerto

7 Rico.

8 (c) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE.—

9 (1) PRESIDENTIAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not

10 less than two years prior to the end of the period

11 of the transition provided for in the transition plan

12 approved under subsection (b), the President shall

13 submit to Congress legislation with a recommenda14 tion for the implementation of full self-government

15 for Puerto Rico consistent with the ballot choice ap16 proved under subsection (a).

17 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

18 plan shall be considered by the Congress in accord19 ance with section 6.

20 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

21 (A) Within 180 days after enactment of

22 the terms of implementation for full self-govern23 ment for Puerto Rico, a referendum shall be

24 held under the applicable provisions of Puerto

25 Rico’s electoral laws on the question of the ap-
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1 proval of the terms of implementation for full

2 self-government for Puerto Rico.

3 (B) Approval must be by a majority of the

4 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

5 shall be certified to the President of the United

6 States by the Government of Puerto Rico.

7 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF FULL SELF-GOVERN8 MENT.—The President of the United States shall

9 issue a proclamation announcing the date of imple10 mentation of full self-government for Puerto Rico,

11 upon receipt of the results of the referendum certify12 ing approval of the terms of implementation.

13 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REFERENDA, IN14 CLUDING INCONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM AND

15 APPLICABLE LAWS.

16 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—

17 (1) REFERENDA UNDER PUERTO RICAN

18 LAWS.—The referenda held under this Act shall be

19 conducted in accordance with the laws of Puerto

20 Rico, and voter eligibility for residents and non21 residents shall be determined by the Puerto Rico

22 State Election Commission.

23 (2) FEDERAL LAWS.—The Federal laws appli24 cable to the election of the Resident Commissioner

25 of Puerto Rico shall, as appropriate, also apply to
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1 the referenda. Any reference in such Federal laws to

2 elections shall be considered, as appropriate, to be a

3 reference to the referenda, unless it would frustrate

4 the purposes of this Act.

5 (b) CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDA RESULTS.—The

6 results of each referendum held under this Act shall be

7 certified to the President of the United States and the

8 Senate and House of Representatives of the United States

9 by the Government of Puerto Rico.

10 (c) CONSULTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IN11 CONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a referendum provided in

13 this Act does not result in approval of a fully self14 governing status, the President, in full consultation

15 with leaders of the three branches of the Govern16 ment of Puerto Rico, the principal political parties

17 of Puerto Rico, and other interested persons as may

18 be appropriate, shall make recommendations to the

19 Congress within 180 days of receipt of the results of

20 the referendum.

21 (2) EXISTING STRUCTURE TO REMAIN IN EF22 FECT.—If the inhabitants of the territory do not

23 achieve full self-governance through either integra24 tion into the Union or separate sovereignty in the

25 form of independence or free association, Puerto
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1 Rico will remain an unincorporated territory of the

2 United States, subject to the authority of Congress

3 under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United

4 States Constitution. In that event, the existing Com5 monwealth of Puerto Rico structure for local self6 government will remain in effect, subject to such

7 other measures as may be adopted by Congress in

8 the exercise of it’s Territorial Clause powers to de9 termine the disposition of the territory and status

10 of it’s inhabitants.

11 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER12 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman of the Committee

14 on Energy and Natural Resources shall introduce legisla15 tion providing for the transition plan under section 4(b)

16 and the implementation recommendation under section

17 4(c), as appropriate, in the United States Senate and the

18 Chairman of the Committee on Resources shall introduce

19 such legislation in the United States House of Representa20 tives, providing adequate time for the consideration of the

21 legislation pursuant to the following provisions:

22 (1) At any time after the close of the 180th cal23 endar day beginning after the date of introduction of

24 such legislation, it shall be in order for any Member

25 of the United States House of Representatives or
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1 the United States Senate to move to discharge any

2 committee of that House from further consideration

3 of the legislation. A motion to discharge shall be

4 highly privileged, and debate thereon shall be limited

5 to not more than two hours, to be divided equally

6 between those supporting and those opposing the

7 motion. An amendment to the motion shall not be in

8 order, and it shall not be in order to move to recon9 sider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or

10 disagreed to.

11 (2) At any time after the close of the 14th leg12 islative day beginning after the last committee of

13 that House has reported or been discharged from

14 further consideration of such legislation, it shall be

15 in order for any Member of that House to move to

16 proceed to the immediate consideration of the legis17 lation (such motion not being debatable), and such

18 motion is hereby made of high privilege. An amend19 ment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall

20 not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by

21 which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to. For

22 the purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘legislative

23 day’’ means a day on which the United States

24 House of Representatives or the United States Sen25 ate, as appropriate, is in session.
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1 (b) COMMITMENT OF CONGRESS.—Enactment of this

2 section constitutes a commitment that the United States

3 Congress will vote on legislation establishing appropriate

4 mechanisms and procedures to implement the political sta5 tus selected by the people of Puerto Rico.

6 (c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The provi7 sions of this section are enacted by the Congress—

8 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

9 the Senate and the House of Representatives and, as

10 such, shall be considered as part of the rules of each

11 House and shall supersede other rules only to the

12 extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

13 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

14 right of either House to change the rules (so far as

15 they relate to the procedures of that House) at any

16 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent

17 as in the case of any other rule of that House.

18 SEC. 7. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE REFERENDA.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS DERIVED FROM

21 TAX ON FOREIGN RUM.—During the period begin22 ning on October 1, 1996, and ending on the date the

23 President determines that all referenda required by

24 this Act have been held, the Secretary of the Treas25 ury, upon request from time to time by the Presi-
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1 dent and in lieu of covering amounts into the treas2 ury of Puerto Rico under section 7652(e)(1) of the

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, shall make such

4 amounts available to the President for the purposes

5 specified in subsection (b).

6 (2) USE OF UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Follow7 ing each referendum required by this Act and after

8 the end of the period specified in paragraph (1), the

9 President shall transfer all unobligated and unex10 pended amounts received by the President under

11 paragraph (1) to the treasury of Puerto Rico for use

12 in the same manner and for the same purposes as

13 all other amounts covered into the treasury of Puer14 to Rico under such section 7652(e)(1).

15 (b) GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING REFERENDA AND

16 VOTER EDUCATION.—From amounts made available

17 under subsection (a)(1), the President shall make grants

18 to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for

19 referenda held pursuant to the terms of this Act, as fol20 lows:

21 (1) 50 percent shall be available only for costs

22 of conducting the referenda.

23 (2) 50 percent shall be available only for voter

24 education funds for the central ruling body of the

25 political party or parties advocating a particular bal-
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1 lot choice. In the case that more than one party is

2 advocating a ballot choice, the 50 percent shall be

3 apportioned equally among the parties.

4 (c) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—In addition to

5 amounts made available by this Act, the Puerto Rico Leg6 islature may allocate additional resources for administra7 tive and voter education costs to each party so long as

8 the distribution of funds is consistent with the apportion9 ment requirements of subsection (b).

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