I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4751

To recognize entry of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico into permanent

union with the United States based on a delegation of government

powers to the United States by the people of Puerto Rico constituted

as a Nation, to guarantee irrevocable United States citizenship as a

right under the United States Constitution for all persons born in Puerto

Rico, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 26, 2000

Mr. DOOLITTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To recognize entry of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

into permanent union with the United States based on

a delegation of government powers to the United States

by the people of Puerto Rico constituted as a Nation,

to guarantee irrevocable United States citizenship as a

right under the United States Constitution for all persons born in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Puerto Rico-United

3 States Bilateral Pact of Non-territorial Permanent Union

4 and Guaranteed Citizenship Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. PUERTO RICO’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED

6 STATES.

7 Congress recognizes Puerto Rico as a nation legally

8 and constitutionally, with a political status and relation9 ship with the United States on the basis of the following

10 governing provisions:

11 (1) The people of Puerto Rico, exercising their

12 sovereignty, their natural right to govern themselves,

13 and their free will as the ultimate source of their po14 litical power, may reaffirm, in accordance with this

15 Act, the validity of the Commonwealth as established

16 as an autonomous political body, neither colonial nor

17 territorial, in permanent union with the United

18 States of America under an agreement which may

19 not be unilaterally nullified or changed, and may

20 propose its further autonomous development. The

21 relationship between Puerto Rico and the United

22 States shall continue to be based on a common de23 fense, market, and currency, and on the

24 nonrevocability of United States citizenship, ac25 quired by birth and protected by the Constitution of

26 the United States.
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1 (2) This relationship guarantees the autono2 mous development of Puerto Rico based on the

3 democratic precept of government by consent of the

4 governed and the recognition that Puerto Rico is a

5 nation with its own history, national character, cul6 ture, and Spanish language.

7 (3) To achieve maximum economic progress and

8 well-being, the people of Puerto Rico may propose to

9 develop the Commonwealth in order to retain all

10 powers not delegated to the United States. In keep11 ing with Puerto Rico’s fiscal autonomy, areas of eco12 nomic development will be identified in which joint

13 action will create jobs and other benefits for both

14 parties, including flexibility in the use of Federal

15 funds.

16 (4) This Act shall not be construed to affect

17 programs involving direct assistance to individuals.

18 (5) The Commonwealth may arrange commer19 cial and tax agreements. as well as other agree20 ments, with other countries and belong to regional

21 and international organizations, consistent with the

22 common defense and security interests of the United

23 States and Puerto Rico, in accordance with this Act

24 and bilateral agreements entered into pursuant to

25 this Act.
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1 (6) After a petition for further development of

2 Commonwealth has been approved by the people of

3 Puerto Rico, a Constituent Assembly shall be con4 vened to negotiate with the Government of the

5 United States the terms and conditions of an agree6 ment to implement the proposals to further develop

7 the Commonwealth, including a mechanism for con8 sent to application and enforcement of laws ap9 proved by Congress.

10 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS.

11 Upon agreement by Congress to recognize a unalter12 able bilateral pact with provisions described in section 2

13 by approval of this Act, the following terms for its imple14 mentation shall apply:

15 (1) The people of Puerto Rico, in the exercise

16 of their sovereignty, natural right to self-government

17 and free will, as the ultimate sources of their polit18 ical power, have consented to and may reaffirm the

19 validity and the force and effect to the Common20 wealth formula that was established in 1952 as an

21 autonomous body which is neither colonial nor a ter22 ritory, in permanent political union with the United

23 States, under an agreement that may not be set

24 aside or altered unilaterally, and which allows for
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1 development of greater autonomy in the future as

2 proposed by Puerto Rico.

3 (2) This bilateral relationship shall guarantee

4 Puerto Rico’s economic growth, based on the precept

5 of democratic government by consent of the people,

6 and acknowledging that Puerto Rico is a nation with

7 its own history, idiosyncrasy, culture, and Spanish

8 language.

9 (3) Congress hereby recognizes and confirms

10 that Puerto Rico has a specific nationality that is

11 distinguishable from that of the United States or

12 any other nation.

13 (4) The United States recognizes that people

14 born in Puerto Rico are Puerto Rican citizens by

15 birth and Puerto Rican citizenship is transferable to

16 their descendants, as set forth by the Common17 wealth of Puerto Rico, and so shall those rights,

18 privileges, and obligations be derived from the same.

19 (5) Upon its free will and in agreement with

20 the United States, the union between Puerto Rico

21 and the United States will be grounded on the foun22 dations set forth below in paragraphs (6) through

23 (9).

24 (6) Those persons born in the Commonwealth

25 of Puerto Rico shall continue being United States
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1 citizens by birthright and said citizenship will con2 tinue to be protected by the United States Constitu3 tion. This right of United States citizenship cannot

4 be unilaterally revoked by the United States.

5 (7) The United States shall maintain its au6 thority and responsibility for matters of defense.

7 This shall include responsibility for the defense of

8 Puerto Rico and its people, in the identical manner

9 that the United States and its own people are de10 fended. The United States may deny or limit mili11 tary or strategic access to the land and waters of

12 Puerto Rico by any other foreign power, and keep

13 the military bases or other installations presently op14 erating in Puerto Rico, such as the National Guard.

15 In the case of Vieques, the legitimate claims of its

16 residents shall be given full and fair review on a pri17 ority basis. Any additional need for military base

18 rights shall be considered or agreed to by way of

19 specific separate accords.

20 (8) A common market shall continue to exist

21 between Puerto Rico and the United States; there22 fore, the trade of goods and services will continue

23 between both countries.
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1 (9) Puerto Rico shall continue to have the right

2 to use United States currency as official currency of

3 Puerto Rico.

4 (10) The people’s self-government emanates

5 from the Commonwealth; therefore, the people of

6 Puerto Rico retain all the powers not delegated to

7 the United States. Federal laws having to do with

8 defense, currency, United States citizenship, social

9 security, medicare, unemployment insurance, bank10 ing and brokerage, postal service, and social and

11 educational aid programs or assistance for veterans

12 are delegated to the United States.

13 (11) International relations functions are dele14 gated to the United States only in the areas con15 sistent with United States powers under the unalter16 able bilateral pact and Commonwealth as recognized

17 under this Act.

18 (12) Areas of special cooperation between the

19 United States and the Commonwealth shall be iden20 tified, wherein powers shall be shared to the benefit

21 of both peoples.

22 (13) United States citizens who live in the

23 Commonwealth are protected by all the rights, privi24 leges, and immunities conferred upon them by the
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1 United States Constitution and the Constitution of

2 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

3 (14) The Federal programs that afford social

4 and educational benefits directly to the residents of

5 Puerto Rico (such as Pell Grants, ‘‘Programa de

6 Assistencia Nutriciaonal’’ (Nutritional Aid Pro7 gram), and school loans) shall remain in force, gov8 erned by the applicable Federal and State standards.

9 The United States acknowledges that Federal pro10 grams for veterans, social security benefits, medi11 care, and unemployment benefits are acquired rights

12 for which workers and their employers have made,

13 and shall continue to make, the corresponding con14 tributions for such Federal programs.

15 (15) With the aim of advancing Puerto Rico’s

16 economic development, and considering the present

17 and future relations between Puerto Rico and the

18 United States, the United States shall provide the

19 Commonwealth an annual block economic allotment,

20 with corresponding inflationary adjustments, so that

21 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico can continue to

22 offer social benefits, develop its public works, infra23 structures, and incentives for the opening of jobs,

24 and to foster its social and economic growth. The

25 parties shall also identify those areas of economic
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1 growth that can be addressed by joint action in

2 order to create jobs, including special incentives pro3 grams for investment on the island.

4 (16) The Commonwealth shall control its inter5 national trade and establish a policy that will foster

6 its maximum economic growth. For such purposes it

7 shall have the capacity and authority to enter into

8 trade and tax agreements with other countries, con9 sistent with the common interest in defense and se10 curity of Puerto Rico and the United States.

11 (17) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may

12 execute agreements and belong to regional and inter13 national bodies, consistent with the common interest

14 in defense and security of Puerto Rico and the

15 United States. The United States shall endorse

16 Puerto Rico’s participation or membership in agree17 ments and institutions to which this paragraph

18 makes reference.

19 (18) The United States shall transfer the lands

20 it owns in Puerto Rico on the date of the enactment

21 of this Act to the Commonwealth, except for those

22 that are used for common defense or that are nec23 essary to perform the powers delegated to the

24 United States in accordance with this Act.
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1 (19) Puerto Rico and the United States shall

2 establish other special areas of cooperation, with the

3 aim of guaranteeing the quality of life of Puerto

4 Ricans, and to foster from the collective experiences

5 of both their peoples institutional and sectorial de6 velopment of both peoples. In the area of orderly, se7 rene, and harmonious development with both peo8 ples’ cultures, spiritual, psychological, and economic

9 nature, Puerto Rico and the United States are here10 by bound to cultivate joint strategies in drug traffic

11 control, regulation of communications, prevention of

12 illegal immigration, mutually beneficial environ13 mental protection, and solidarity with international

14 precepts, including an advanced state of fair em15 ployer-employee relations in the workplace, disaster

16 relief, shared technological innovation in agriculture,

17 medicine, pharmacology, criminal justice, and other

18 fields of natural and social sciences, as well as the

19 humanities.

20 (20) The United States Federal district court

21 in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall entertain

22 matters that arise from those provisions of the Con23 stitution of the United States that are applicable in

24 Puerto Rico, from the provisions of United States

25 statutes that apply to Puerto Rico, consistent with
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1 or pursuant to this Act or the unalterable bilateral

2 pact, and which are not contrary to the provisions

3 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Spanish and

4 English shall be the official languages of the Federal

5 district courts in Puerto Rico.

6 (21) In negotiations between the parties under

7 this Act, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be

8 represented by a negotiating committee comprised of

9 3 members appointed by the Governor and con10 firmed by 75 percent of both houses of the Legisla11 tive Assembly of Puerto Rico. At least 2 of the 3

12 members of the committee must believe in the polit13 ical philosophy set forth in the Commonwealth for14 mula as recognized under this Act. The United

15 States shall be represented by a 3-member negoti16 ating committee appointed by the President of the

17 United States.

18 (22) In the event a controversy is not resolved

19 though negotiations between the parties, the issue

20 shall be submitted to a dispute resolution commis21 sion. The commission shall be created, comprised of

22 5 members, 2 appointed by the Commonwealth of

23 Puerto Rico and 2 appointed by the United States,

24 and a 5th member to be appointed by the majority

25 of the 4 members representing the parties. The 5-
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1 member commission shall designate a president

2 among themselves.

3 (23) The bilateral pact, as agreed and devel4 oped under this Act, shall have the force and effect

5 acknowledged by constitutional and international

6 laws in effect, as a bilateral agreement that recog7 nizes rights and delegates powers, based on mutual

8 consent, and which may not be unilaterally with9 drawn or altered.

10 (24) In addition to the recognition and reaffir11 mation of Commonwealth under this Act, upon ap12 proval of any proposal by Puerto Rico to further de13 velop Commonwealth by the people of Puerto Rico,

14 a constitutional convention may be assembled. Said

15 convention shall, on behalf of the people of Puerto

16 Rico, negotiate with the United States the additional

17 terms and conditions of the association between

18 Puerto Rico and the United States, as well as the

19 specific written instrument of said agreement. Said

20 constitutional convention may not adopt proposals

21 that undermine or void the mandate of the people of

22 Puerto Rico or that may undermine the percepts of

23 common citizenship, market, currency and defense,

24 or against Puerto Rican national identity.
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1 (25) The constitutional convention shall design

2 and propose to the United States Government a

3 mechanism for the specific, prospective consent on

4 the application of legislation passed by the United

5 States Congress after the adoption of an agreement

6 on this matter under this Act, as to such legislation

7 as the People of Puerto Rico want to apply to them.

8 (26) The people of Puerto Rico shall elect a

9 Resident Commissioner to represent Puerto Rico be10 fore the United States Government, and who shall

11 be considered as a Member of the United States

12 House of Representatives as regards any legislative

13 matter relating to Puerto Rico. The Resident Com14 missioner shall also represent Puerto Rico before the

15 executive branch of the United States Government.

16 (27) The constitutional convention shall have

17 representation in Puerto Rico’s 2 main political par18 ties; therefore they may nominate candidates who

19 shall comprise the convention.

20 (28) Once any agreement to develop Common21 wealth further is negotiated and approved by the

22 United States and the constitutional convention, it

23 shall be in force and effect after it has been ap24 proved by the people of Puerto Rico. Any further

25 modification of the terms of the agreement shall
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1 have to be approved by the people of Puerto Rico,

2 by means of a special voting process in conformity

3 with its democratic institutions and processes.

4 (29) The constitutional convention shall not be

5 authorized to alter, modify, amend or change the

6 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

7 (30) The symbols, flag, and hymns of the Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico shall be the symbols, flag,

9 and hymns that are in effect on the date of the en10 actment of this Act.

11 (31) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall

12 retain the capacity to subscribe to cultural, edu13 cational, and scientific and sports agreements.

14 SEC. 4. NONSEVERABILITY.

15 The governing provisions for Commonwealth set forth

16 in section 2 alter existing Federal law in order to establish

17 the necessary elements of a legal definition of the political

18 status of Puerto Rico on a basis not subject to the power

19 of Congress over territories under article IV, section 3,

20 clause 2 of the United States Constitution. If a court of

21 competent jurisdiction enters a final judgment on the mer22 its that is no longer subject to appeal, which alters, limits,

23 or impairs the Commonwealth formula set forth in the

24 governing provisions of section 2, or prevents establish25 ment of Commonwealth as a relationship that is not terri-
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1 torial, whether such judgment is based on Federal statu2 tory or Federal constitutional grounds, or which deter3 mines that any provisions of section 2 and section 3 or

4 implementing measures thereunder violate the United

5 States Constitution, then the provisions of this Act are

6 null and void and of no effect, and Puerto Rico will there7 upon continue to be governed in accordance with the Puer8 to Rican Federal Relations Act (64 Stat. 319) and Federal

9 law applicable to Puerto Rico as of the date of the enact10 ment of this Act.

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