Union Calendar No. 442

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3024

[Report No. 104–713, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To provide a process leading to full self-government

for Puerto Rico.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Rules with an amendon the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed ment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House
IB

Union Calendar No. 442

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3024

[Report No. 104–713, Parts I and II]

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

JULY 26, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JULY 26, 1996

Referral to Rules extended July 26, 1996 for a period no later than

September 18, 1996

SEPTEMBER 18, 1996

Additional sponsors: Mr. BISHOP, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. OWENS,

Ms. NORTON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. FRAZER, Mr.

ENGEL, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey,

Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. FILNER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr.

DAVIS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HYDE, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. FARR

of California, Mr. POMBO, Mr. STUMP, Mr. FORBES, Mr. SAWYER, Mr.

TORRES, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. KIM, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. DE LA GARZA, Mr.

HANSEN, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. TORKILDSEN,
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Ms. PELOSI, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. FUNDERBURK, and

Mr. FLANAGAN

Deleted sponsors: Ms. MCKINNEY (added April 17, 1996; deleted May 23,

1996), and Mr. TOWNS (added April 17, 1996; deleted April 25, 1996)

SEPTEMBER 18, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Rules with an amendment, committed to the

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered

to be printed

[Omit the part struck through in brackets and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

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:

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.

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

9 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Puerto Rico is an unincorporated and lo2 cally self-governing territory of the United States,

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

4 sovereignty pursuant to the Treaty of Paris ending

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

6 the Treaty of Paris expressly recognizes the author7 ity of Congress to provide for the political status of

8 the inhabitants of the territory.

9 (2) United States citizenship was extended to

10 Puerto Rico in 1917, as well as partial application

11 of the United States Constitution.

12 (3) In the period 1950–1952, Congress author13 ized, amended, and then approved a constitution for

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

15 the ‘‘Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’’, without alter16 ing the territory’s fundamental economic, political,

17 and legal relationship with the United States.

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

19 President George Bush urged the Congress to take

20 the necessary steps to authorize a federally recog21 nized process allowing the people of Puerto Rico, for

22 the first time since the Treaty of Paris entered into

23 force, to freely express their wishes regarding their

24 future political status in a congressionally recognized
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1 referendum, a step in the process of self-determina2 tion which the Congress has yet to authorize.

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

4 Puerto Rico conducted a plebiscite initiated under

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

6 vote none of the three status propositions received a

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

8 were: 48.6 percent commonwealth, 46.3 percent

9 statehood, and 4.4 percent independence.

10 (6) In 1994, President William Jefferson Clin11 ton established the Executive Branch Interagency

12 Working Group on Puerto Rico to coordinate the re13 view, development, and implementation of executive

14 branch administrative policy concerning Puerto Rico

15 in light of the November 1993 plebiscite in the is16 lands.

17 (7) There have been inconsistent and conflicting

18 interpretations of the 1993 plebiscite results, and

19 under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution (ar20 ticle IV, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the au21 thority and responsibility to determine Federal pol22 icy and clarify status issues in order to advance the

23 self-determination process in Puerto Rico.

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

25 Legislature enacted Concurrent Resolution 62, which
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1 requested the 104th Congress to respond to the re2 sults of the 1993 Puerto Rico Status Plebiscite and

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

4 political status.

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

6 in the islands of Puerto Rico, which have been with7 in the American political system and the United

8 States customs territory for almost 100 years, mak9 ing Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and most popu10 lous United States island territory at the southeast11 ern-most boundary of our Nation, located astride the

12 strategic shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean and

13 Caribbean Sea.

14 (10) Full self-government for Puerto Rico is at15 tainable only through establishment of a political

16 status either without or within United States sov17 ereignty, under which Puerto Rico is no longer an

18 unincorporated territory subject to the plenary au19 thority of Congress arising from the Territorial

20 Clause.

21 SEC. 3. POLICY.

22 In recognition of the significant level of local self-gov23 ernment which has been attained by Puerto Rico, and the

24 desire by both the United States and Puerto Rico to en25 able the people of the territory to achieve full self-govern-
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1 ment through a self-determination process consistent with

2 United States and internationally recognized standards,

3 this Act is adopted with a commitment to encourage the

4 mutual development and implementation of procedures to

5 determine the political status of Puerto Rico.

6 SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR PUERTO RICAN FULL SELF-GOVERN7 MENT, INCLUDING THE INITIAL DECISION

8 STAGE, TRANSITION STAGE, AND IMPLEMEN9 TATION STAGE.

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

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

12 December 31, 1998. The referendum shall be held in ac13 cordance with the applicable provisions of Puerto Rico’s

14 electoral law and other relevant statutes, and approval

15 must be by a majority of the valid votes cast. The referen16 dum shall be on the following question:

17 ‘‘Which path leading to full self-government for Puer18 to Rico do you prefer to be developed through a transition

19 plan enacted by the Congress and approved by the people

20 of Puerto Rico?

21 ‘‘(1) A path of separate Puerto Rican sov22 ereignty leading to independence or free association,

23 in which—

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

25 with full authority and responsibility for its in-
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1 ternal and external affairs, exercising in its own

2 name and right the powers of government with

3 respect to its territory and population, language

4 and culture, and determining its own relations

5 and participation in the community of nations;

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

7 cooperation or an international bilateral pact of

8 free association terminable at will by either

9 Puerto Rico or the United States, defines fu10 ture relations between Puerto Rico and the

11 United States, providing for cooperation and

12 assistance in matters of shared interest as

13 agreed and approved by Puerto Rico and the

14 United States pursuant to this Act and their re15 spective constitutional processes;

16 ‘‘(C) a constitution democratically insti17 tuted by the people of Puerto Rico, establishing

18 a republican form of full self-government and

19 securing the rights of citizens of the Puerto

20 Rican nation, is the supreme law, and the Con21 stitution and laws of the United States no

22 longer apply in Puerto Rico;

23 ‘‘(D) Puerto Rico exercises the sovereign

24 power to determine and control its own nation25 ality and citizenship, and United States nation-
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1 ality and citizenship conferred on the people of

2 Puerto Rico based upon birth in the territory

3 during the period in which the United States

4 exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over

5 Puerto Rico is withdrawn in favor of Puerto

6 Rican nationality and citizenship, and the Unit7 ed States Congress has authority to prescribe

8 criteria for affected individuals to establish eli9 gibility for retention of United States national10 ity and citizenship or naturalization in the

11 United States on a basis which does not create

12 an exception to the establishment and preserva13 tion of separate United States and Puerto

14 Rican nationality and citizenship;

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

16 the United States as a sovereign nation and es17 tablishment of government-to-government rela18 tions on the basis of comity and reciprocity,

19 Puerto Rico’s representation to the United

20 States is accorded full diplomatic status;

21 ‘‘(F) Puerto Rico is eligible for United

22 States assistance provided on a government-to23 government basis, including foreign aid or pro24 grammatic assistance, at levels determined at

25 the discretion of Congress and the President;
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1 ‘‘(G) property rights and previously ac2 quired rights vested by employment in Puerto

3 Rico or the United States are honored, and

4 where determined necessary such rights are

5 promptly adjusted and settled consistent with

6 government-to-government agreements imple7 menting the separation of sovereignty; and

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

9 territory of the United States, and trade be10 tween the United States and Puerto Rico is

11 based on a treaty.

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

13 leading to statehood, in which—

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

15 self-governing with their rights secured under

16 the United States Constitution, which is the su17 preme law and has the same force and effect as

18 in the other States of the Union;

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

20 in permanent union with the United States, and

21 powers not delegated to the Federal Govern22 ment or prohibited to the States by the United

23 States Constitution are reserved to the people

24 of Puerto Rico or the State Government;
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1 ‘‘(C) United States citizenship of those

2 born in Puerto Rico is guaranteed and pro3 tected to the same extent as those born in the

4 several States;

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

6 rights and benefits as well as equal duties and

7 responsibilities of citizenship, including payment

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

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

10 United States Senate and the House of Rep11 resentatives proportionate to the population;

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

13 for United States presidential and vice-presi14 dential electors proportionate to the population;

15 and

16 ‘‘(G) Puerto Rico adheres to the same lan17 guage requirement as in the several States.’’.

18 (b) TRANSITION STAGE.—

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

20 the results of the referendum from the Government

21 of Puerto Rico certifying approval of a ballot choice

22 in a referendum held pursuant to subsection (a), the

23 President shall submit to Congress legislation for a

24 transition plan of 10 years minimum which leads to

25 full self-government for Puerto Rico consistent with
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1 the terms of this Act and in full consultation with

2 leaders of the three branches of the Government of

3 Puerto Rico, the principal political parties of Puerto

4 Rico, and other interested persons as may be appro5 priate.

6 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

7 plan shall be considered by the Congress in accord8 ance with section 6.

9 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

10 (A) Not later than 180 days after enact11 ment of an Act pursuant to paragraph (1) pro12 viding for the transition to full self-government

13 for Puerto Rico as approved in the initial deci14 sion referendum held under subsection (a), a

15 referendum shall be held under the applicable

16 provisions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law on the

17 question of approval of the transition plan.

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

19 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

20 shall be certified to the President of the United

21 States by the Government of Puerto Rico.

22 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR TRANSITION PLAN.—

23 Upon receipt of the results of the referendum under

24 this subsection certifying approval of the transition

25 plan, the President of the United States shall issue
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1 a proclamation announcing the effective date of the

2 transition plan to full self-government for Puerto

3 Rico.

4 (c) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE.—

5 (1) PRESIDENTIAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not

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

7 of the transition provided for in the transition plan

8 approved under subsection (b), the President shall

9 submit to Congress legislation with a recommenda10 tion for the implementation of full self-government

11 for Puerto Rico consistent with the ballot choice ap12 proved under subsection (a).

13 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

14 plan shall be considered by the Congress in accord15 ance with section 6.

16 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

17 (A) Within 180 days after enactment of

18 the terms of implementation for full self-govern19 ment for Puerto Rico, a referendum shall be

20 held under the applicable provisions of Puerto

21 Rico’s electoral laws on the question of the ap22 proval of the terms of implementation for full

23 self-government for Puerto Rico.

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

25 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum
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1 shall be certified to the President of the United

2 States by the Government of Puerto Rico.

3 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF FULL SELF-GOVERN4 MENT.—The President of the United States shall

5 issue a proclamation announcing the date of imple6 mentation of full self-government for Puerto Rico,

7 upon receipt of the results of the referendum certify8 ing approval of the terms of implementation.

9 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REFERENDA, IN10 CLUDING INCONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM AND

11 APPLICABLE LAWS.

12 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—

13 (1) REFERENDA UNDER PUERTO RICAN

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

15 conducted in accordance with the laws of Puerto

16 Rico, and voter eligibility for residents and non17 residents shall be determined by the Puerto Rico

18 State Election Commission.

19 (2) FEDERAL LAWS.—The Federal laws appli20 cable to the election of the Resident Commissioner

21 of Puerto Rico shall, as appropriate, also apply to

22 the referenda. Any reference in such Federal laws to

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

24 reference to the referenda, unless it would frustrate

25 the purposes of this Act.
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1 (b) CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDA RESULTS.—The

2 results of each referendum held under this Act shall be

3 certified to the President of the United States and the

4 Senate and House of Representatives of the United States

5 by the Government of Puerto Rico.

6 (c) CONSULTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IN7 CONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM.—

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

9 this Act does not result in approval of a fully self10 governing status, the President, in full consultation

11 with leaders of the three branches of the Govern12 ment of Puerto Rico, the principal political parties

13 of Puerto Rico, and other interested persons as may

14 be appropriate, shall make recommendations to the

15 Congress within 180 days of receipt of the results of

16 the referendum.

17 (2) EXISTING STRUCTURE TO REMAIN IN EF18 FECT.—If the inhabitants of the territory do not

19 achieve full self-governance through either integra20 tion into the Union or separate sovereignty in the

21 form of independence or free association, Puerto

22 Rico will remain an unincorporated territory of the

23 United States, subject to the authority of Congress

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

25 States Constitution. In that event, the existing Com-
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1 monwealth of Puerto Rico structure for local self2 government will remain in effect, subject to such

3 other measures as may be adopted by Congress in

4 the exercise of it’s Territorial Clause powers to de5 termine the disposition of the territory and status of

6 it’s inhabitants.

7 øSEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER8 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

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

10 on Energy and Natural Resources shall introduce legisla11 tion providing for the transition plan under section 4(b)

12 and the implementation recommendation under section

13 4(c), as appropriate, in the United States Senate and the

14 Chairman of the Committee on Resources shall introduce

15 such legislation in the United States House of Representa16 tives, providing adequate time for the consideration of the

17 legislation pursuant to the following provisions:

18 ø(1) At any time after the close of the 180th

19 calendar day beginning after the date of introduction

20 of such legislation, it shall be in order for any Mem21 ber of the United States House of Representatives

22 or the United States Senate to move to discharge

23 any committee of that House from further consider24 ation of the legislation. A motion to discharge shall

25 be highly privileged, and debate thereon shall be lim-
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1 ited to not more than two hours, to be divided equal2 ly between those supporting and those opposing the

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

4 order, and it shall not be in order to move to recon5 sider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or

6 disagreed to.

7 ø(2) At any time after the close of the 14th leg8 islative day beginning after the last committee of

9 that House has reported or been discharged from

10 further consideration of such legislation, it shall be

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

12 proceed to the immediate consideration of the legis13 lation (such motion not being debatable), and such

14 motion is hereby made of high privilege. An amend15 ment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall

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

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

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

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

20 House of Representatives or the United States Sen21 ate, as appropriate, is in session.

22 ø(b) COMMITMENT OF CONGRESS.—Enactment of

23 this section constitutes a commitment that the United

24 States Congress will vote on legislation establishing appro-
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1 priate mechanisms and procedures to implement the politi2 cal status selected by the people of Puerto Rico.

3 ø(c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The pro4 visions of this section are enacted by the Congress—

5 ø(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

6 the Senate and the House of Representatives and, as

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

8 House and shall supersede other rules only to the

9 extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

10 ø(2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

14 as in the case of any other rule of that House.¿

15 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER16 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The majority leader of

18 the House of Representatives (or his des19 ignee) and the majority leader of the Senate

20 (or his designee) shall each introduce legisla21 tion (by request) providing for the transition

22 plan under section 4(b) and the implementa23 tion recommendation under section 4(c) not

24 later than 5 legislative days after the date of

25 receipt by Congress of the submission by the
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1 President under that section, as the case may

2 be.

3 (b) REFERRAL.—The legislation shall be re4 ferred on the date of introduction to the ap5 propriate committee or committees in accord6 ance with rules of the respective Houses. The

7 legislation shall be reported not later than the

8 120th calendar day after the date of its intro9 duction. If any such committee fails to report

10 the bill within that period, that committee

11 shall be automatically discharged from con12 sideration of the legislation, and the legisla13 tion shall be placed on the appropriate cal14 endar.

15 (c) CONSIDERATION.—

16 (1) After the 14th legislative day after

17 the date on which the last committee of

18 the House of Representatives or the Sen19 ate, as the case may be, has reported or

20 been discharged from further consider21 ation of such legislation, it is in order

22 after the legislation has been on the cal23 endar for 14 legislative days for any

24 Member of that House in favor of the leg25 islation to move to proceed to the consid-
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1 eration of the legislation (after consulta2 tion with the presiding officer of that

3 House as to scheduling) to move to pro4 ceed to its consideration at any time after

5 the third legislative day on which the

6 Member announces to the respective

7 House concerned the Member’s intention

8 to do so. All points of order against the

9 motion to proceed and against consider10 ation of that motion are waived. The mo11 tion is highly privileged in the House of

12 Representatives and is privileged in the

13 Senate and is not debatable. The motion

14 is not subject to amendment, or to a mo15 tion to postpone, or to a motion to pro16 ceed to the consideration of other busi17 ness. A motion to reconsider the vote by

18 which the motion is agreed to or dis19 agreed to shall not be in order. If a mo20 tion to proceed to the consideration of

21 the legislation is agreed to, the respective

22 House shall immediately proceed to con23 sideration of the legislation without in24 tervening motion (exception one motion

25 to adjourn), order, or other business.
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1 (2)(A) In the House of Representa2 tives, during consideration of the legisla3 tion in the Committee of the Whole, the

4 first reading of the legislation shall be

5 dispensed with. General debate shall be

6 confined to the legislation, and shall not

7 exceed 4 hours equally divided and con8 trolled by a proponent and an opponent

9 of the legislation. After general debate,

10 the legislation shall be considered as

11 read for amendment under the five12 minute rule. Consideration of the legisla13 tion for amendment shall not exceed 4

14 hours excluding time for recorded votes

15 and quorum calls. At the conclusion of

16 the bill for amendment, the Committee

17 shall rise and report the bill to the House

18 with such amendments as may have been

19 adopted. The previous question shall be

20 considered as ordered on the legislation

21 and amendments thereto to final passage

22 without intervening motion, except one

23 motion to recommit with or without in24 structions. A motion to reconsider the
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1 vote on passage of the legislation shall

2 not be in order.

3 (B) In the Senate, debate on the legis4 lation, and all amendments thereto and

5 debatable motions and appeals in connec6 tion therewith, shall be limited to not

7 more than 25 hours. The time shall be

8 equally divided between, and controlled

9 by, the majority leader and the minority

10 leader or their designees. No amendment

11 that is not germane to the provisions of

12 such legislation shall be received. A mo13 tion to further limit debate is not debat14 able.

15 (3) Appeals from the decisions of the

16 Chair relating to the application of the

17 rules of the Senate or the House of Rep18 resentatives, as the case may be, to the

19 procedure relating to the legislation de20 scribed in subsection (a) shall be decided

21 without debate.

22 (d) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.—(1)

23 If, before the passage by one House of the leg24 islation described in subsection (a) that was

25 introduced in that House, that House receives
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1 from the other House the legislation de2 scribed in subsection (a)—

3 (A) the legislation of the other House

4 shall not be referred to a committee and

5 may not be considered in the House that

6 receives it otherwise than on final pas7 sage under subparagraph (B)(ii) or (iii);

8 and

9 (B)(i) the procedure in the House that

10 receives such legislation with respect to

11 such legislation that was introduced in

12 that House shall be the same as if no leg13 islation had been received from the other

14 House; but

15 (ii) in the case of legislation received

16 from the other House that is identical to

17 the legislation as engrossed by the receiv18 ing House, the vote on final passage shall

19 be on the legislation of the other House;

20 or

21 (iii) after passage of the legislation,

22 the legislation of the other House shall be

23 considered as amended with the text of

24 the legislation just passed and shall be

25 considered as passed, and that House
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1 shall be considered to have insisted on its

2 amendment and requested a conference

3 with the other House.

4 (2) Upon disposition of the legislation

5 described in subsection (a) that is re6 ceived by one House from the other

7 House, it shall no longer be in order to

8 consider such legislation that was intro9 duced in the receiving House.

10 (e) Upon receiving from the other House

11 a message in which that House insists upon

12 its amendment to the legislation and requests

13 a conference with the House of Representa14 tives or the Senate, as the case may be, on the

15 disagreeing votes thereon, the House receiv16 ing the request shall be considered to have

17 disagreed to the amendment of the other

18 House and agreed to the conference re19 quested by that House.

20 (f) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this

21 section, the term ‘‘legislative day’’ means a

22 day on which the House of Representatives or

23 the Senate, as appropriate, is in session.
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1 (g) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The

2 provisions of this section are enacted by the

3 Congress—

4 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking

5 power of the Senate and the House of

6 Representatives and, as such, shall be

7 considered as part of the rules of each

8 House and shall supersede other rules

9 only to the extent that they are inconsist10 ent therewith; and

11 (2) with full recognition of the con12 stitutional right of either House to

13 change the rules (so far as they relate to

14 the procedures of that House) at any

15 time, in the same manner, and to the

16 same extent as in the case of any other

17 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).

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

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

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

14 this Act is as follows:

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.

15 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

16 The Congress finds the following:

17 (1) Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States

18 and came under this Nation’s sovereignty pursuant to

19 the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American

20 War in 1898. Article IX of the Treaty of Paris ex21 pressly recognizes the authority of Congress to provide
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1 for the political status of the inhabitants of the terri2 tory.

3 (2) Consistent with establishment of United

4 States nationality for inhabitants of Puerto Rico

5 under the Treaty of Paris, Congress has exercised its

6 powers under the Territorial Clause of the Constitu7 tion (article IV, section 3, clause 2) to provide by

8 statute for the citizenship status of persons born in

9 Puerto Rico, including extension of special statutory

10 United States citizenship from 1917 to the present.

11 (3) Consistent with the Territorial Clause and

12 rulings of the United States Supreme Court, partial

13 application of the United States Constitution has

14 been established in the unincorporated territories of

15 the United States including Puerto Rico.

16 (4) In 1950 Congress prescribed a procedure for

17 instituting internal self-government for Puerto Rico

18 pursuant to statutory authorization for a local con19 stitution. A local constitution was approved by the

20 people, amended and conditionally approved by Con21 gress, and thereupon given effect in 1952 after accept22 ance of congressional conditions by the Puerto Rico

23 Constitutional Convention and an appropriate proc24 lamation by the Governor. The approved constitution

25 established the structure for constitutional government
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1 in respect of internal affairs without altering Puerto

2 Rico’s fundamental political, social, and economic re3 lationship with the United States and without re4 stricting the authority of Congress under the Terri5 torial Clause to determine the application of Federal

6 law to Puerto Rico, resulting in the present ‘‘Com7 monwealth’’ structure for local self-government. The

8 Commonwealth remains an unincorporated territory

9 and does not have the status of ‘‘free association’’

10 with the United States as that status is defined under

11 United States law or international practice.

12 (5) In 1953 the United States transmitted to the

13 Secretary-General of the United Nations for circula14 tion to its Members a formal notification that the

15 United States no longer would transmit information

16 regarding Puerto Rico to the United Nations pursu17 ant to Article 73(e) of its Charter. The formal United

18 States notification document informed the United Na19 tions that the cessation of information on Puerto Rico

20 was based on the ‘‘new constitutional arrangements’’

21 in the territory, and the United States expressly de22 fined the scope of the ‘‘full measure’’ of local self-gov23 ernment in Puerto Rico as extending to matters of

24 ‘‘internal government and administration, subject

25 only to compliance with applicable provisions of the
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1 Federal Constitution, the Puerto Rico Federal Rela2 tions Act and the acts of Congress authorizing and

3 approving the Constitution, as may be interpreted by

4 judicial decision.’’. Thereafter, the General Assembly

5 of the United Nations, based upon consent of the in6 habitants of the territory and the United States ex7 planation of the new status as approved by Congress,

8 adopted Resolution 748 (VIII) by a vote of 22 to 18

9 with 19 abstentions, thereby accepting the United

10 States determination to cease reporting to the United

11 Nations on the status of Puerto Rico.

12 (6) In 1960 the United Nations General Assem13 bly approved Resolution 1541 (XV), clarifying that

14 under United Nations standards regarding the politi15 cal status options available to the people of territories

16 yet to complete the process for achieving full self-gov17 ernment, the three established forms of full self-govern18 ment are national independence, free association

19 based on separate sovereignty, or full integration with

20 another nation on the basis of equality.

21 (7) The ruling of the United States Supreme

22 Court in the 1980 case Harris v. Rosario (446 U.S.

23 651) confirmed that Congress continues to exercise

24 authority over Puerto Rico as territory ‘‘belonging to

25 the United States’’ pursuant to the Territorial Clause
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1 found at Article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United

2 States Constitution, a judicial interpretation of Puer3 to Rico’s status which is in accordance with the clear

4 intent of Congress that establishment of local constitu5 tional government in 1952 did not alter Puerto Rico’s

6 status as an unincorporated United States territory.

7 (8) In a joint letter dated January 17, 1989, co8 signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico in his capacity

9 as president of one of Puerto Rico’s principal politi10 cal parties and the presidents of the two other prin11 cipal political parties of Puerto Rico, the United

12 States was formally advised that ‘‘. . . the People of

13 Puerto Rico wish to be consulted as to their preference

14 with regards to their ultimate political status’’, and

15 the joint letter stated ‘‘. . . that since Puerto Rico

16 came under the sovereignty of the United States of

17 America through the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the

18 People of Puerto Rico have not been formally con19 sulted by the United States of America as to their

20 choice of their ultimate political status’’.

21 (9) In the 1989 State of the Union Message,

22 President George Bush urged the Congress to take the

23 necessary steps to authorize a federally recognized

24 process allowing the people of Puerto Rico, for the

25 first time since the Treaty of Paris entered into force,
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1 to freely express their wishes regarding their future

2 political status in a congressionally recognized ref3 erendum, a step in the process of self-determination

4 which the Congress has yet to authorize.

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

6 Puerto Rico conducted a plebiscite initiated under

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

8 vote none of the three status propositions received a

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

10 were: 48.6 percent commonwealth, 46.3 percent state11 hood, and 4.4 percent independence.

12 (11) In 1994, President William Jefferson Clin13 ton established the Executive Branch Interagency

14 Working Group on Puerto Rico to coordinate the re15 view, development, and implementation of executive

16 branch policy concerning issues affecting Puerto Rico,

17 including the November 1993 plebiscite.

18 (12) There have been inconsistent and conflicting

19 interpretations of the 1993 plebiscite results, and

20 under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution, Con21 gress has the authority and responsibility to deter22 mine Federal policy and clarify status issues in order

23 to advance the self-determination process in Puerto

24 Rico.
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1 (13) On December 14, 1994, the Puerto Rico

2 Legislature enacted Concurrent Resolution 62, which

3 requested the 104th Congress to respond to the results

4 of the 1993 Puerto Rico Status Plebiscite and to indi5 cate the next steps in resolving Puerto Rico’s political

6 status.

7 (14) Nearly 4,000,000 United States citizens live

8 in the islands of Puerto Rico, which have been under

9 United States sovereignty and within the United

10 States customs territory for almost 100 years, making

11 Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and most populous

12 United States island territory at the southeastern13 most boundary of our Nation, located astride the stra14 tegic shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean and Carib15 bean Sea.

16 (15) Full self-government for Puerto Rico is at17 tainable only through establishment of a political sta18 tus which is based on either separate Puerto Rican

19 sovereignty and nationality or full and equal United

20 States nationality and citizenship through member21 ship in the Union and under which Puerto Rico is

22 no longer an unincorporated territory subject to the

23 plenary authority of Congress arising from the Terri24 torial 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 responsibility of the Federal Government to enable the peo5 ple of the territory to freely express their wishes regarding

6 political status and achieve full self-government, this Act

7 is adopted with a commitment to encourage the development

8 and implementation of procedures through which the per9 manent political status of the people of Puerto Rico can

10 be determined.

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 pursuant

18 to this Act and in accordance with the applicable provisions

19 of Puerto Rico’s electoral law and other relevant statutes

20 consistent with this Act. Approval of a status option must

21 be by a majority of the valid votes cast. The referendum

22 shall be on the following questions presented on the ballot

23 as options A and B in a side-by-side format in Parts I

24 and II:
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1 ‘‘PART I

2 ‘‘Instructions: Mark the option you choose. Ballots

3 with both options marked in Part I will not be counted.

4 ‘‘A. Puerto Rico should continue the present Common5 wealth structure for self-government with respect to internal

6 affairs and administration, subject to the provisions of the

7 Constitution and laws of the United States which apply to

8 Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico remains a locally self-governing

9 unincorporated territory of the United States, and continu10 ation or modification of current Federal law and policy to

11 Puerto Rico remains within the discretion of Congress. The

12 ultimate status of Puerto Rico will be determined through

13 a process authorized by Congress which includes self-deter14 mination by the people of Puerto Rico in periodic referenda.

15 If you agree, mark here .

16 ‘‘B. Puerto Rico should complete the process leading

17 to full self-government through separate Puerto Rican sov18 ereignty or United States sovereignty as defined in Part

19 II of this ballot. Full self-government will be achieved in

20 accordance with a transition plan approved by the Congress

21 and the people of Puerto Rico in a later vote. A third vote

22 will take place at the end of the transition period in which

23 the people of Puerto Rico will be able to approve final im24 plementation of full self-government. This will establish a
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1 permanent political status under the constitutional system

2 chosen by the people. If you agree, mark here: 

3 ‘‘PART II

4 ‘‘Instructions: Mark the option you choose. Ballots

5 with both options marked in Part II will not be counted.

6 ‘‘If full self-government is approved by the majority

7 of voters, which path leading to full self-government for

8 Puerto Rico do you prefer to be developed through a transi9 tion plan enacted by the Congress and approved by the peo10 ple of Puerto Rico?

11 ‘‘A. Puerto Rico should become fully self-governing

12 through separate sovereignty leading to independence or free

13 association as defined below. If you agree, mark here: 

14 ‘‘The path of separate Puerto Rican sovereignty lead15 ing to independence or free association is one in which—

16 ‘‘(1) Puerto Rico is a sovereign nation with full

17 authority and responsibility for its internal and ex18 ternal affairs and has the capacity to exercise in its

19 own name and right the powers of government with

20 respect to its territory and population;

21 ‘‘(2) a negotiated treaty of friendship and co22 operation, or an international bilateral pact of free

23 association terminable at will by either Puerto Rico

24 or the United States, defines future relations between

25 Puerto Rico and the United States, providing for co-
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1 operation and assistance in matters of shared interest

2 as agreed and approved by Puerto Rico and the Unit3 ed States pursuant to this Act and their respective

4 constitutional processes;

5 ‘‘(3) a constitution democratically instituted by

6 the people of Puerto Rico, establishing a republican

7 form of full self-government and securing the rights of

8 citizens of the Puerto Rican nation, is the supreme

9 law, and the Constitution and laws of the United

10 States no longer apply in Puerto Rico;

11 ‘‘(4) The people of Puerto Rico owe allegiance to

12 the sovereign nation of Puerto Rico and have the na13 tionality, and citizenship thereof; United States sov14 ereignty, nationality, and citizenship in Puerto Rico

15 is ended; birth in Puerto Rico and relationship to

16 persons with statutory United States citizenship by

17 birth in the former territory are not bases for United

18 States nationality or citizenship, except that persons

19 who had such United States citizenship have a statu20 tory right to retain United States nationality and

21 citizenship for life, by entitlement or election as pro22 vided by the United States Congress, based on contin23 ued allegiance to the United States: Provided, That

24 such persons will not have this statutory United

25 States nationality and citizenship status upon having
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1 or maintaining allegiance, nationality, and citizen2 ship rights in any sovereign nation other than the

3 United States;

4 ‘‘(5) upon recognition of Puerto Rico by the

5 United States as a sovereign nation and establish6 ment of government-to-government relations on the

7 basis of comity and reciprocity, Puerto Rico’s rep8 resentation to the United States is accorded full diplo9 matic status;

10 ‘‘(6) Puerto Rico is eligible for United States as11 sistance provided on a government-to-government

12 basis, including foreign aid or programmatic assist13 ance, at levels subject to agreement by the United

14 States and Puerto Rico;

15 ‘‘(7) property rights and previously acquired

16 rights vested by employment under laws of Puerto

17 Rico or the United States are honored, and where de18 termined necessary such rights are promptly adjusted

19 and settled consistent with government-to-government

20 agreements implementing the separation of sov21 ereignty; and

22 ‘‘(8) Puerto Rico is outside the customs territory

23 of the United States, and trade between the United

24 States and Puerto Rico is based on a treaty.
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1 ‘‘B. Puerto Rico should become fully self-governing

2 through United States sovereignty leading to statehood as

3 defined below. If you agree, mark here: 

4 ‘‘The path through United States sovereignty leading

5 to statehood is one in which—

6 ‘‘(1) the people of Puerto Rico are fully self-gov7 erning with their rights secured under the United

8 States Constitution, which is the supreme law and

9 has the same force and effect as in the other States

10 of the Union;

11 ‘‘(2) the sovereign State of Puerto Rico is in per12 manent union with the United States, and powers not

13 delegated to the Federal Government or prohibited to

14 the States by the United States Constitution are re15 served to the people of Puerto Rico or the State Gov16 ernment;

17 ‘‘(3) United States citizenship of those born in

18 Puerto Rico is guaranteed, protected and secured in

19 the same way it is for all United States citizens born

20 in the other States;

21 ‘‘(4) residents of Puerto Rico have equal rights

22 and benefits as well as equal duties and responsibil23 ities of citizenship, including payment of Federal

24 taxes, as those in the several States;
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1 ‘‘(5) Puerto Rico is represented by two members

2 in the United States Senate and is represented in the

3 House of Representatives proportionate to the popu4 lation;

5 ‘‘(6) United States citizens in Puerto Rico are

6 enfranchised to vote in elections for the President and

7 Vice President of the United States; and

8 ‘‘(7) Puerto Rico adheres to the same language

9 requirement as in the several States.’’.

10 (b) TRANSITION STAGE.—

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

12 of the results of the referendum from the Government

13 of Puerto Rico certifying approval of a ballot choice

14 of full self-government in a referendum held pursuant

15 to subsection (a), the President shall develop and sub16 mit to Congress legislation for a transition plan of 10

17 years minimum which leads to full self-government

18 for Puerto Rico consistent with the terms of this Act

19 and in consultation with officials of the three

20 branches of the Government of Puerto Rico, the prin21 cipal political parties of Puerto Rico, and other inter22 ested persons as may be appropriate.

23 (B) Additionally, in the event of a vote in favor

24 of separate sovereignty, the Legislature of Puerto

25 Rico, if deemed appropriate, may provide by law for
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1 the calling of a constituent convention to formulate,

2 in accordance with procedures prescribed by law,

3 Puerto Rico’s proposals and recommendations to im4 plement the referendum results. If a convention is

5 called for this purpose, any proposals and rec6 ommendations formally adopted by such convention

7 within time limits of this Act shall be transmitted to

8 Congress by the President with the transition plan re9 quired by this section, along with the views of the

10 President regarding the compatibility of such propos11 als and recommendations with the United States Con12 stitution and this Act, and identifying which, if any,

13 of such proposals and recommendations have been ad14 dressed in the President’s proposed transition plan.

15 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The plan

16 shall be considered by the Congress in accordance

17 with section 6.

18 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

19 (A) Not later than 180 days after enactment

20 of an Act pursuant to paragraph (1) providing

21 for the transition to full self-government for

22 Puerto Rico as approved in the initial decision

23 referendum held under subsection (a), a referen24 dum shall be held under the applicable provi-
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1 sions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law on the ques2 tion of approval of the transition plan.

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.

7 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR TRANSITION PLAN.—

8 The President of the United States shall issue a proc9 lamation announcing the effective date of the transi10 tion plan to full self-government for Puerto Rico.

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE.—

12 (1) PRESIDENTIAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not less

13 than two years prior to the end of the period of the

14 transition provided for in the transition plan ap15 proved under subsection (b), the President shall sub16 mit to Congress legislation with a recommendation

17 for the implementation of full self-government for

18 Puerto Rico consistent with the ballot choice approved

19 under subsection (a).

20 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The plan

21 shall be considered by the Congress in accordance

22 with section 6.

23 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

24 (A) Within 180 days after enactment of the

25 terms of implementation for full self-government
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1 for Puerto Rico, a referendum shall be held

2 under the applicable provisions of Puerto Rico’s

3 electoral laws on the question of the approval of

4 the terms of implementation for full self-govern5 ment for Puerto Rico.

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

7 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

8 shall be certified to the President of the United

9 States.

10 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF FULL SELF-GOVERN11 MENT.—The President of the United States shall issue

12 a proclamation announcing the date of implementa13 tion of full self-government for Puerto Rico.

14 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REFERENDA, IN15 CLUDING INCONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM AND

16 APPLICABLE LAWS.

17 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—

18 (1) REFERENDA UNDER PUERTO RICAN LAWS.—

19 The referenda held under this Act shall be conducted

20 in accordance with the applicable laws of Puerto

21 Rico, including laws of Puerto Rico under which

22 voter eligibility is determined and which require

23 United States citizenship and establish other statu24 tory requirements for voter eligibility of residents and

25 nonresidents.
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1 (2) FEDERAL LAWS.—The Federal laws applica2 ble to the election of the Resident Commissioner of

3 Puerto Rico shall, as appropriate and consistent with

4 this Act, also apply to the referenda. Any reference in

5 such Federal laws to elections shall be considered, as

6 appropriate, to be a reference to the referenda, unless

7 it would frustrate the purposes of this Act.

8 (b) CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDA RESULTS.—The

9 results of each referendum held under this Act shall be cer10 tified to the President of the United States and the Senate

11 and House of Representatives of the United States by the

12 Government of Puerto Rico.

13 (c) CONSULTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IN14 CONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM.—

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

16 this Act does not result in approval of a fully self-gov17 erning status, the President, in consultation with offi18 cials of the three branches of the Government of Puer19 to Rico, the principal political parties of Puerto Rico,

20 and other interested persons as may be appropriate,

21 shall make recommendations to the Congress within

22 180 days of receipt of the results of the referendum.

23 (2) EXISTING STRUCTURE TO REMAIN IN EF24 FECT.—If the inhabitants of the territory do not

25 achieve full self-governance through either integration
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1 into the Union or separate sovereignty in the form of

2 independence or free association, Puerto Rico will re3 main an unincorporated territory of the United

4 States, subject to the authority of Congress under Ar5 ticle IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United States Con6 stitution. In that event, the existing Commonwealth of

7 Puerto Rico structure for local self-government will

8 remain in effect, subject to such other measures as

9 may be adopted by Congress in the exercise of it’s

10 Territorial Clause powers to determine the disposition

11 of the territory and status of it’s inhabitants.

12 (3) AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS TO DETERMINE

13 STATUS.—Since current unincorporated territory sta14 tus of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is not a per15 manent, unalterable or guaranteed status under the

16 Constitution of the United States, Congress retains

17 plenary authority and responsibility to determine a

18 permanent status for Puerto Rico consistent with the

19 national interest. The Congress historically has recog20 nized a commitment to take into consideration the

21 freely expressed wishes of the people of Puerto Rico re22 garding their future political status. This policy is

23 consistent with respect for the right of self-determina24 tion in areas which are not fully self-governing, but

25 does not constitute a legal restriction or binding limi-
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1 tation on the Territorial Clause powers of Congress to

2 determine a permanent status of Puerto Rico. Nor

3 does any such restriction or limitation arise from the

4 Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act (48 U.S.C. 731 et

5 seq.).

6 (4) ADDITIONAL REFERENDA.—To ensure that

7 the Congress is able on a continuing basis to exercise

8 its Territorial Clause powers with due regard for the

9 wishes of the people of Puerto Rico respecting resolu10 tion of Puerto Rico’s permanent future political sta11 tus, in the event that a referendum conducted under

12 section four is inconclusive as provided in this sub13 section, or a majority vote to continue the Common14 wealth structure as a territory, there shall be another

15 referendum in accordance with this Act prior to the

16 expiration of a period of four years from the date

17 such inconclusive results are certified or determined.

18 This procedure shall be repeated every four years, but

19 not in a general election year, until Puerto Rico’s un20 incorporated territory status is terminated in favor of

21 a recognized form of full self-government in accord22 ance with this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER2 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

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

4 Energy and Natural Resources shall introduce legislation

5 providing for the transition plan under section 4(b) and

6 the implementation recommendation under section 4(c), as

7 appropriate, in the United States Senate and the Chairman

8 of the Committee on Resources shall introduce such legisla9 tion in the United States House of Representatives, provid10 ing adequate time for the consideration of the legislation

11 pursuant to the following provisions:

12 (1) At any time after the close of the 180th cal13 endar day beginning after the date of introduction of

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

15 of the United States House of Representatives or the

16 United States Senate to move to discharge any com17 mittee of that House from further consideration of the

18 legislation. A motion to discharge shall be highly

19 privileged, and debate thereon shall be limited to not

20 more than two hours, to be divided equally between

21 those supporting and those opposing the motion. An

22 amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and

23 it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote

24 by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to.

25 (2) At any time after the close of the 14th legis26 lative day beginning after the last committee of that
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1 House has reported or been discharged from further

2 consideration of such legislation, it shall be in order

3 for any Member of that House to move to proceed to

4 the immediate consideration of the legislation (such

5 motion not being debatable), and such motion is here6 by made of high privilege. An amendment to the mo7 tion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order

8 to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion

9 was agreed to or disagreed to. For the purposes of this

10 paragraph, the term ‘‘legislative day’’ means a day

11 on which the United States House of Representatives

12 or the United States Senate, as appropriate, is in ses13 sion.

14 (b) COMMITMENT OF CONGRESS.—Enactment of this

15 section constitutes a commitment that the United States

16 Congress will vote on legislation establishing appropriate

17 mechanisms and procedures to implement the political sta18 tus selected by the people of Puerto Rico.

19 (c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The provi20 sions of this section are enacted by the Congress—

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

22 Senate and the House of Representatives and, as such,

23 shall be considered as part of the rules of each House

24 and shall supersede other rules only to the extent that

25 they are inconsistent therewith; and
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1 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

4 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as

5 in the case of any other rule of that House.

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

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—

8 (1) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS DERIVED FROM

9 TAX ON FOREIGN RUM.—During the period beginning

10 on October 1, 1996, and ending on the date the Presi11 dent determines that all referenda required by this

12 Act have been held, from the amounts covered into the

13 treasury of Puerto Rico under section 7652(e)(1) of

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Secretary of

15 the Treasury—

16 (A) upon request and in the amounts iden17 tified from time to time by the President, shall

18 make the amounts so identified available to the

19 treasury of Puerto Rico for the purposes specified

20 in subsection (b); and

21 (B) shall transfer all remaining amounts to

22 the treasury of Puerto Rico, as under current

23 law.

24 (2) REPORT OF REFERENDA EXPENDITURES.—

25 Within 180 days after each referendum required by
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1 this Act, and after the end of the period specified in

2 paragraph (1), the President, in consultation with the

3 Government of Puerto Rico, shall submit a report to

4 the United States Senate and United States House of

5 Representatives on the amounts made available under

6 paragraph (1)(A) and all other amounts expended by

7 the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for

8 referenda pursuant to this Act.

9 (b) GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING REFERENDA AND

10 VOTER EDUCATION.—From amounts made available under

11 subsection (a)(1), the Government of Puerto Rico shall make

12 grants to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico

13 for referenda held pursuant to the terms of this Act, as fol14 lows:

15 (1) 50 percent shall be available only for costs of

16 conducting the referenda.

17 (2) 50 percent shall be available only for voter

18 education funds for the central ruling body of the po19 litical party, parties, or other qualifying entities ad20 vocating a particular ballot choice. The amount allo21 cated for advocating a ballot choice under this para22 graph shall be apportioned equally among the parties

23 advocating that choice.

24 (c) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—In addition to

25 amounts made available by this Act, the Puerto Rico Legis-
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1 lature may allocate additional resources for administrative

2 and voter education costs to each party so long as the dis3 tribution of funds is consistent with the apportionment re4 quirements of subsection (b).