Union Calendar No. 106

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 856

[Report No. 105–131, Part I]

A BILL

To provide a process leading to full self-government

for Puerto Rico.

JULY 11, 1997

The Committee on Rules discharged; referred to the

Union and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 106

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 856

[Report No. 105–131, Part I]

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 27, 1997

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́,

Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. KENNEDY

of Rhode Island, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. TAUZIN,

Mr. GREEN, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. POMBO, Mr. PAYNE,

Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. JONES, Mr. STUMP, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. FAZIO of

California, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. KILDEE, Ms.

NORTON, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. KLINK, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. FARR of

California, Mr. WYNN, Mr. DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Ms.

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.

KUCINICH, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. TORRES, Mr. PALLONE, Mr.

PASCRELL, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN,

Mr. VENTO, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. KIM, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. FORBES, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr.

HINOJOSA, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr.

TIERNEY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. MILLER of

California, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. JOHN, Mr.

DELAY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, and Ms. SANCHEZ) 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

JUNE 12, 1997

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment
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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JUNE 12, 1997

Referral to the Committee on Rules extended for a period ending not later

than July 11, 1997

JULY 11, 1997

Additional sponsors: Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. REYES, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. DICKEY, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. KIND, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. LAZIO of New York,

Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. GEPHARDT

JULY 11, 1997

The Committee on Rules discharged; referred to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 27, 1997]

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; table of contents.

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.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

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

4 and came under this Nation’s sovereignty pursuant to

5 the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American

6 War in 1898. Article IX of the Treaty of Paris recog7 nized the authority of Congress to provide for the po8 litical status of the inhabitants of the territory.

9 (2) Consistent with establishment of United

10 States nationality for inhabitants of Puerto Rico

11 under the Treaty of Paris, Congress has exercised its

12 powers under the Territorial Clause of the Constitu13 tion (article IV, section 3, clause 2) to provide by sev14 eral statutes beginning in 1917, for the United States

15 citizenship status of persons born in Puerto Rico.

16 (3) Consistent with the Territorial Clause and

17 rulings of the United States Supreme Court, partial

18 application of the United States Constitution has

19 been established in the unincorporated territories of

20 the United States including Puerto Rico.

21 (4) In 1950, Congress prescribed a procedure for

22 instituting internal self-government for Puerto Rico

23 pursuant to statutory authorization for a local con24 stitution. A local constitution was approved by the

25 people of Puerto Rico, conditionally approved by Con26 gress, subject to congressionally required amendment
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1 by Puerto Rico, and thereupon given effect in 1952

2 after acceptance of congressional conditions by the

3 Puerto Rico Constitutional Convention and an appro4 priate proclamation by the Governor. The approved

5 constitution established the structure for constitu6 tional government in respect of internal affairs with7 out altering Puerto Rico’s fundamental political, so8 cial, and economic relationship with the United

9 States and without restricting the authority of Con10 gress under the Territorial Clause to determine the

11 application of Federal law to Puerto Rico, resulting

12 in the present ‘‘Commonwealth’’ structure for local

13 self-government. The Commonwealth remains an un14 incorporated territory and does not have the status of

15 ‘‘free association’’ with the United States as that sta16 tus is defined under United States law or inter17 national practice.

18 (5) In 1953, the United States transmitted to the

19 Secretary-General of the United Nations for circula20 tion to its Members a formal notification that the

21 United States no longer would transmit information

22 regarding Puerto Rico to the United Nations pursu23 ant to Article 73(e) of its Charter. The formal United

24 States notification document informed the United Na25 tions that the cessation of information on Puerto Rico
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1 was based on the ‘‘new constitutional arrangements’’

2 in the territory, and the United States expressly de3 fined the scope of the ‘‘full measure’’ of local self-gov4 ernment in Puerto Rico as extending to matters of

5 ‘‘internal government and administration, subject

6 only to compliance with applicable provisions of the

7 Federal Constitution, the Puerto Rico Federal Rela8 tions Act and the acts of Congress authorizing and

9 approving the Constitution, as may be interpreted by

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

11 of the United Nations, based upon consent of the in12 habitants of the territory and the United States ex13 planation of the new status as approved by Congress,

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

15 with 19 abstentions, thereby accepting the United

16 States determination to cease reporting to the United

17 Nations on the status of Puerto Rico.

18 (6) In 1960, the United Nations General Assem19 bly approved Resolution 1541 (XV), clarifying that

20 under United Nations standards regarding the politi21 cal status options available to the people of territories

22 yet to complete the process for achieving full self-gov23 ernment, the three established forms of full self-govern24 ment are national independence, free association
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1 based on separate sovereignty, or full integration with

2 another nation on the basis of equality.

3 (7) The ruling of the United States Supreme

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

5 651) confirmed that Congress continues to exercise

6 authority over Puerto Rico as territory ‘‘belonging to

7 the United States’’ pursuant to the Territorial Clause

8 found at Article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United

9 States Constitution; and in the 1982 case of

10 Rodriguez v. Popular Democratic Party (457 U.S. 1),

11 the Court confirmed that the Congress delegated pow12 ers of administration to the Commonwealth of Puerto

13 Rico sufficient for it to function ‘‘like a State’’ and

14 as ‘‘an autonomous political entity’’ in respect of in15 ternal affairs and administration, pending further

16 disposition by Congress. These rulings constitute judi17 cial interpretation of Puerto Rico’s status which is

18 in accordance with the clear intent of Congress that

19 establishment of local constitutional government in

20 1952 did not alter Puerto Rico’s status as an unin21 corporated United States territory.

22 (8) In a joint letter dated January 17, 1989, co23 signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico in his capacity

24 as president of one of Puerto Rico’s principal politi25 cal parties and the presidents of the two other prin-
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1 cipal political parties of Puerto Rico, the United

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

3 Puerto Rico wish to be consulted as to their preference

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

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

6 came under the sovereignty of the United States of

7 America through the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the

8 People of Puerto Rico have not been formally con9 sulted by the United States of America as to their

10 choice of their ultimate political status’’.

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

12 President George Bush urged the Congress to take the

13 necessary steps to authorize a federally recognized

14 process allowing the people of Puerto Rico, for the

15 first time since the Treaty of Paris entered into force,

16 to freely express their wishes regarding their future

17 political status in a congressionally recognized ref18 erendum, a step in the process of self-determination

19 which the Congress has yet to authorize.

20 (10) On November 14, 1993, the Government of

21 Puerto Rico conducted a plebiscite initiated under

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

23 vote none of the three status propositions received a

24 majority of the votes cast. The results of that vote
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1 were: 48.6 percent for a commonwealth option, 46.3

2 percent statehood, and 4.4 percent independence.

3 (11) In a letter dated December 2, 1994, Presi4 dent William Jefferson Clinton informed leaders in

5 Congress that an Executive Branch Interagency

6 Working Group on Puerto Rico had been organized to

7 coordinate the review, development, and implementa8 tion of executive branch policy concerning issues af9 fecting Puerto Rico, including the November 1993

10 plebiscite.

11 (12) Under the Territorial Clause of the Con12 stitution, Congress has the authority and responsibil13 ity to determine Federal policy and clarify status is14 sues in order to resolve the issue of Puerto Rico’s final

15 status.

16 (13) On January 23, 1997, the Puerto Rico Leg17 islature enacted Concurrent Resolution 2, which re18 quested the 105th Congress ‘‘. . . to respond to the

19 democratic aspirations of the American citizens of

20 Puerto Rico’’ by approving legislation authorizing

21 ‘‘. . . a plebiscite sponsored by the Federal Govern22 ment, to be held no later than 1998’’.

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

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

25 United States sovereignty and within the United
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1 States customs territory for almost 100 years, making

2 Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and most populous

3 United States island territory at the southeastern4 most boundary of our Nation, located astride the stra5 tegic shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean and Carib6 bean Sea.

7 (15) Full self-government for Puerto Rico is at8 tainable only through establishment of a political sta9 tus which is based on either separate Puerto Rican

10 sovereignty and nationality or full and equal United

11 States nationality and citizenship through member12 ship in the Union and under which Puerto Rico is

13 no longer an unincorporated territory subject to the

14 plenary authority of Congress arising from the Terri15 torial Clause.

16 SEC. 3. POLICY.

17 (a) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITMENT.—In recognition of

18 the significant level of local self-government which has been

19 attained by Puerto Rico, and the responsibility of the Fed20 eral Government to enable the people of the territory to free21 ly express their wishes regarding political status and

22 achieve full self-government, this Act is adopted with a com23 mitment to encourage the development and implementation

24 of procedures through which the permanent political status

25 of the people of Puerto Rico can be determined.
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1 (b) LANGUAGE.—English shall be the common lan2 guage of mutual understanding in the United States, and

3 shall apply in all of the States duly and freely admitted

4 to the Union. The Congress recognizes that at the present

5 time, Spanish and English are the joint official languages

6 of Puerto Rico, and have been for nearly 100 years; that

7 English is the official language of Federal courts in Puerto

8 Rico; that the ability to speak English is a requirement for

9 Federal jury services; yet Spanish rather than English is

10 currently the predominant language used by the majority

11 of the people of Puerto Rico; and that Congress has the au12 thority to expand existing English language requirements

13 in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In the event that the

14 referenda held under this Act result in approval of sov15 ereignty leading to Statehood, it is anticipated that upon

16 accession to Statehood, English language requirements of

17 the Federal Government shall apply in Puerto Rico to the

18 same extent as Federal law requires throughout the United

19 States. Congress also recognizes the significant advantage

20 that proficiency in Spanish as well as English has bestowed

21 on the people of Puerto Rico, and further that this will serve

22 the best interests of both Puerto Rico and the rest of the

23 United States in our mutual dealings in the Caribbean,

24 Latin America, and throughout the Spanish-speaking

25 world.
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1 SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR PUERTO RICAN FULL SELF-GOVERN2 MENT, INCLUDING THE INITIAL DECISION

3 STAGE, TRANSITION STAGE, AND IMPLEMEN4 TATION STAGE.

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

6 Puerto Rico’s political status is authorized to be held not

7 later than December 31, 1998. The referendum shall be held

8 pursuant to this Act and in accordance with the applicable

9 provisions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law and other relevant

10 statutes consistent with this Act. Approval of a status op11 tion must be by a majority of the valid votes cast. The ref12 erendum shall be on the approval of 1 of the 3 options pre13 sented on the ballot as follows:

14 ‘‘Instructions: Mark the status option you choose as

15 each is defined below. Ballot with more than 1 option

16 marked will not be counted.

17 ‘‘A. COMMONWEALTH.—If you agree, mark here

18 lll

19 ‘‘Puerto Rico should retain Commonwealth, in

20 which—

21 ‘‘(1) Puerto Rico continues the present Common22 wealth structure for constitutional self-government

23 with respect to internal affairs and administration;

24 ‘‘(2) Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory

25 of the United States, and the provisions of the Con26 stitution and laws of the United States, including
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1 those provisions for rights, privileges, and immunities

2 of United States citizens, apply to Puerto Rico as de3 termined by Congress;

4 ‘‘(3) persons born in Puerto Rico have statutory

5 United States nationality and citizenship as pre6 scribed by Congress;

7 ‘‘(4) the qualified voters of Puerto Rico elect a

8 nonvoting Resident Commissioner to the United

9 States who serves in the House of Representatives;

10 ‘‘(5) the levels of Federal benefits and taxes ex11 tended to the residents of Puerto Rico are established

12 by Federal law as deemed equitable by Congress;

13 ‘‘(6) Puerto Rico uses the currency of the United

14 States, is within the United States customs territory

15 and defense system, and English language require16 ments of the Federal Government apply, as provided

17 by Federal law;

18 ‘‘(7) the extension, continuation, modification,

19 and termination of Federal law and policy applicable

20 to Puerto Rico and its residents is within the discre21 tion of Congress; and

22 ‘‘(8) the ultimate status of Puerto Rico will be

23 established through a process authorized by Congress

24 which includes self-determination by the residents of

25 Puerto Rico in periodic referenda.
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1 ‘‘B. SEPARATE SOVEREIGNTY.—If you agree, mark

2 here lll

3 ‘‘The people of Puerto Rico should become fully self4 governing through separate sovereignty in the form of inde5 pendence or free association, in which—

6 ‘‘(1) Puerto Rico is a sovereign Republic which

7 has full authority and responsibility over its territory

8 and population under a constitution which is the su9 preme law, providing for a republican form of govern10 ment and the protection of human rights;

11 ‘‘(2) the Republic of Puerto Rico is a member of

12 the community of nations vested with full powers and

13 responsibilities for its own fiscal and monetary pol14 icy, immigration, trade, and the conduct in its own

15 name and right of relations with other nations and

16 international organizations;

17 ‘‘(3) the people of Puerto Rico owe allegiance to

18 and have the nationality and citizenship of the Re19 public of Puerto Rico;

20 ‘‘(4) The Constitution and laws of the United

21 States no longer apply in Puerto Rico, and United

22 States sovereignty in Puerto Rico is ended; thereupon

23 birth in Puerto Rico or relationship to persons with

24 statutory United States citizenship by birth in the

25 former territory shall cease to be a basis for United
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1 States nationality or citizenship, except that persons

2 who had such United States citizenship have a statu3 tory right to retain United States nationality and

4 citizenship for life, by entitlement or election as pro5 vided by the United States Congress, based on contin6 ued allegiance to the United States: Provided, That

7 such persons will not have this statutory United

8 States nationality and citizenship status upon having

9 or maintaining allegiance, nationality, and citizen10 ship rights in any sovereign nation, including the Re11 public of Puerto Rico, other than the United States;

12 ‘‘(5) The previously vested rights of individuals

13 in Puerto Rico to benefits based upon past services

14 rendered or contributions made to the United States

15 shall be honored by the United States as provided by

16 Federal law;

17 ‘‘(6) Puerto Rico and the United States seek to

18 develop friendly and cooperative relations in matters

19 of mutual interest as agreed in treaties approved pur20 suant to their respective constitutional processes, and

21 laws including economic and programmatic assist22 ance at levels and for a reasonable period as provided

23 on a government-to-government basis, trade between

24 customs territories, transit of citizens in accordance
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1 with immigration laws, and status of United States

2 military forces; and

3 ‘‘(7) a free association relationship may be estab4 lished based on separate sovereign republic status as

5 defined above, but with such delegations of some gov6 ernment functions and other cooperative arrange7 ments as agreed to by both parties under a bilateral

8 pact terminable at will by either the United States or

9 Puerto Rico.

10 ‘‘C. STATEHOOD.—If you agree, mark here lll

11 ‘‘Puerto Rico should become fully self governing

12 through Statehood, in which—

13 ‘‘(1) the people of Puerto Rico are fully self-gov14 erning with their rights secured under the United

15 States Constitution, which shall be fully applicable in

16 Puerto Rico and which, with the laws and treaties of

17 the United States, is the supreme law and has the

18 same force and effect as in the other States of the

19 Union;

20 ‘‘(2) the sovereign State of Puerto Rico is in per21 manent union with the United States, and powers not

22 delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor

23 prohibited by the Constitution to the States, are re24 served to the State of Puerto Rico or to the people;
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1 ‘‘(3) United States citizenship of those born in

2 Puerto Rico is guaranteed, protected and secured in

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

4 in the other States;

5 ‘‘(4) the people of Puerto Rico have equal rights,

6 privileges, immunities, and benefits as well as equal

7 duties and responsibilities of citizenship, including

8 payment of Federal taxes, as those in the several

9 States;

10 ‘‘(5) Puerto Rico is represented by two members

11 in the United States Senate and is represented in the

12 House of Representatives proportionate to the popu13 lation;

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

15 enfranchised to vote in elections for the President and

16 Vice President of the United States; and

17 ‘‘(7) English is the official language of business

18 and communication in Federal courts and Federal

19 agencies as made applicable by Federal law to every

20 other State, and Puerto Rico is enabled to expand

21 and build upon existing law establishing English as

22 an official language of the State government, courts,

23 and agencies.’’.

24 (b) TRANSITION STAGE.—
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1 (1) PLAN.—(A) Within 180 days of the receipt

2 of the results of the referendum from the Government

3 of Puerto Rico certifying approval of a ballot choice

4 of full self-government in a referendum held pursuant

5 to subsection (a), the President shall develop and sub6 mit to Congress legislation for a transition plan of

7 not more than 10 years which leads to full self-gov8 ernment for Puerto Rico consistent with the terms of

9 this Act and the results of the referendum and in con10 sultation with officials of the three branches of the

11 Government of Puerto Rico, the principal political

12 parties of Puerto Rico, and other interested persons

13 as may be appropriate.

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

15 of separate sovereignty, the Legislature of Puerto

16 Rico, if deemed appropriate, may provide by law for

17 the calling of a constituent convention to formulate,

18 in accordance with procedures prescribed by law,

19 Puerto Rico’s proposals and recommendations to im20 plement the referendum results. If a convention is

21 called for this purpose, any proposals and rec22 ommendations formally adopted by such convention

23 within time limits of this Act shall be transmitted to

24 Congress by the President with the transition plan re25 quired by this section, along with the views of the
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1 President regarding the compatibility of such propos2 als and recommendations with the United States Con3 stitution and this Act, and identifying which, if any,

4 of such proposals and recommendations have been ad5 dressed in the President’s proposed transition plan.

6 (C) Additionally, in the event of a vote in favor

7 of United States sovereignty leading to Statehood, the

8 President shall include in the transition plan pro9 vided for in this Act—

10 (i) proposals and incentives to increase the

11 opportunities of the people of Puerto Rico to

12 learn to speak, read, write, and understand Eng13 lish fully, including but not limited to, the teach14 ing of English in public schools, fellowships, and

15 scholarships. The transition plan should promote

16 the usage of English by the United States citi17 zens of Puerto Rico, in order to best allow for—

18 (I) the enhancement of the century old

19 practice of English as an official language

20 of Puerto Rico, consistent with the preserva21 tion of our Nation’s unity in diversity and

22 the prevention of divisions along linguistic

23 lines;

24 (II) the use of language skills necessary

25 to contribute most effectively to the Nation
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1 in all aspects, including but not limited to

2 Hemispheric trade, and for citizens to enjoy

3 the full rights and benefits of their citizen4 ship;

5 (III) the promotion of efficiency and

6 fairness to all people in the conduct of the

7 Federal and State government’s official

8 business; and

9 (IV) the ability of all citizens to take

10 full advantage of the economical, edu11 cational, and occupational opportunities

12 through full integration with the United

13 States; and

14 (ii) the effective date upon which the Con15 stitution shall have the same force and effect in

16 Puerto Rico as in the several States, thereby per17 mitting the greatest degree of flexibility for the

18 phase-in of Federal programs and the develop19 ment of the economy through fiscal incentives,

20 alternative tax arrangements, and other meas21 ures.

22 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The plan

23 shall be considered by the Congress in accordance

24 with section 6.

25 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—
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1 (A) Not later than 180 days after enactment

2 of an Act pursuant to paragraph (1) providing

3 for the transition to full self-government for

4 Puerto Rico as approved in the initial decision

5 referendum held under subsection (a), a referen6 dum shall be held under the applicable provi7 sions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law on the ques8 tion of approval of the transition plan.

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

10 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

11 shall be certified to the President of the United

12 States.

13 (c) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE.—

14 (1) PRESIDENTIAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not less

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

16 transition provided for in the transition plan ap17 proved under subsection (b), the President shall sub18 mit to Congress a joint resolution with a rec19 ommendation for the date of termination of the tran20 sition and the date of implementation of full self-gov21 ernment for Puerto Rico within the transition period

22 consistent with the ballot choice approved under sub23 section (a).
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1 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The joint

2 resolution shall be considered by the Congress in ac3 cordance with section 6.

4 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

5 (A) Within 180 days after enactment of the

6 terms of implementation for full self-government

7 for Puerto Rico, a referendum shall be held

8 under the applicable provisions of Puerto Rico’s

9 electoral laws on the question of the approval of

10 the terms of implementation for full self-govern11 ment for Puerto Rico.

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

13 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

14 shall be certified to the President of the United

15 States.

16 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REFERENDA, IN17 CLUDING INCONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM AND

18 APPLICABLE LAWS.

19 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—

20 (1) REFERENDA UNDER PUERTO RICAN LAWS.—

21 The referenda held under this Act shall be conducted

22 in accordance with the applicable laws of Puerto

23 Rico, including laws of Puerto Rico under which

24 voter eligibility is determined and which require

25 United States citizenship and establish other statu-
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1 tory requirements for voter eligibility of residents and

2 nonresidents.

3 (2) FEDERAL LAWS.—The Federal laws applica4 ble to the election of the Resident Commissioner of

5 Puerto Rico shall, as appropriate and consistent with

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

7 such Federal laws to elections shall be considered, as

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

9 it would frustrate the purposes of this Act.

10 (b) CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDA RESULTS.—The

11 results of each referendum held under this Act shall be cer12 tified to the President of the United States and the Senate

13 and House of Representatives of the United States by the

14 Government of Puerto Rico.

15 (c) CONSULTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IN16 CONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM.—

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

18 section 4(b) or (c) of this Act does not result in ap19 proval of a fully self-governing status, the President,

20 in consultation with officials of the three branches of

21 the Government of Puerto Rico, the principal politi22 cal parties of Puerto Rico, and other interested per23 sons as may be appropriate, shall make recommenda24 tions to the Congress within 180 days of receipt of the

25 results of the referendum regarding completion of the
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1 self-determination process for Puerto Rico under the

2 authority of Congress.

3 (2) ADDITIONAL REFERENDA.—To ensure that

4 the Congress is able on a continuing basis to exercise

5 its Territorial Clause powers with due regard for the

6 wishes of the people of Puerto Rico respecting resolu7 tion of Puerto Rico’s permanent future political sta8 tus, in the event that a referendum conducted under

9 section 4(a) does not result in a majority vote for sep10 arate sovereignty or statehood, there is authorized to

11 be further referenda in accordance with this Act, but

12 not less than once every 10 years.

13 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER14 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The majority leader of the House

16 of Representatives (or his designee) and the majority leader

17 of the Senate (or his designee) shall each introduce legisla18 tion (by request) providing for the transition plan under

19 section 4(b) and the implementation recommendation under

20 section 4(c) not later than 5 legislative days after the date

21 of receipt by Congress of the submission by the President

22 under that section, as the case may be.

23 (b) REFERRAL.—The legislation shall be referred on

24 the date of introduction to the appropriate committee or

25 committees in accordance with rules of the respective
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1 Houses. The legislation shall be reported not later than the

2 120th calendar day after the date of its introduction. If any

3 such committee fails to report the bill within that period,

4 that committee shall be automatically discharged from con5 sideration of the legislation, and the legislation shall be

6 placed on the appropriate calendar.

7 (c) CONSIDERATION.—

8 (1) After the 14th legislative day after the date

9 on which the last committee of the House of Rep10 resentatives or the Senate, as the case may be, has re11 ported or been discharged from further consideration

12 of such legislation, it is in order after the legislation

13 has been on the calendar for 14 legislative days for

14 any Member of that House in favor of the legislation

15 to move to proceed to the consideration of the legisla16 tion (after consultation with the presiding officer of

17 that House as to scheduling) to move to proceed to its

18 consideration at any time after the third legislative

19 day on which the Member announces to the respective

20 House concerned the Member’s intention to do so. All

21 points of order against the motion to proceed and

22 against consideration of that motion are waived. The

23 motion is highly privileged in the House of Represent24 atives and is privileged in the Senate and is not de25 batable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or
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1 to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to

2 the consideration of other business. A motion to recon3 sider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or dis4 agreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed

5 to the consideration of the legislation is agreed to, the

6 respective House shall immediately proceed to consid7 eration of the legislation without intervening motion

8 (exception one motion to adjourn), order, or other

9 business.

10 (2)(A) In the House of Representatives, during

11 consideration of the legislation in the Committee of

12 the Whole, the first reading of the legislation shall be

13 dispensed with. General debate shall be confined to the

14 legislation, and shall not exceed 4 hours equally di15 vided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent

16 of the legislation. After general debate, the legislation

17 shall be considered as read for amendment under the

18 five-minute rule. Consideration of the legislation for

19 amendment shall not exceed 4 hours excluding time

20 for recorded votes and quorum calls. At the conclusion

21 of the bill for amendment, the Committee shall rise

22 and report the bill to the House with such amend23 ments as may have been adopted. The previous ques24 tion shall be considered as ordered on the legislation

25 and amendments thereto to final passage without in-
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1 tervening motion, except one motion to recommit with

2 or without instructions. A motion to reconsider the

3 vote on passage of the legislation shall not be in order.

4 (B) In the Senate, debate on the legislation, and

5 all amendments thereto and debatable motions and

6 appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to

7 not more than 25 hours. The time shall be equally di8 vided between, and controlled by, the majority leader

9 and the minority leader or their designees. No amend10 ment that is not germane to the provisions of such

11 legislation shall be received. A motion to further limit

12 debate is not debatable.

13 (3) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relat14 ing to the application of the rules of the Senate or the

15 House of Representatives, as the case may be, to the

16 procedure relating to the legislation described in sub17 section (a) shall be decided without debate.

18 (d) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.—(1) If, before

19 the passage by one House of the legislation described in sub20 section (a) that was introduced in that House, that House

21 receives from the other House the legislation described in

22 subsection (a)—

23 (A) the legislation of the other House shall not

24 be referred to a committee and may not be considered
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1 in the House that receives it otherwise than on final

2 passage under subparagraph (B)(ii) or (iii); and

3 (B)(i) the procedure in the House that receives

4 such legislation with respect to such legislation that

5 was introduced in that House shall be the same as if

6 no legislation had been received from the other House;

7 but

8 (ii) in the case of legislation received from the

9 other House that is identical to the legislation as en10 grossed by the receiving House, the vote on final pas11 sage shall be on the legislation of the other House; or

12 (iii) after passage of the legislation, the legisla13 tion of the other House shall be considered as amend14 ed with the text of the legislation just passed and

15 shall be considered as passed, and that House shall be

16 considered to have insisted on its amendment and re17 quested a conference with the other House.

18 (2) Upon disposition of the legislation described in

19 subsection (a) that is received by one House from the other

20 House, it shall no longer be in order to consider such legisla21 tion that was introduced in the receiving House.

22 (e) Upon receiving from the other House a message in

23 which that House insists upon its amendment to the legisla24 tion and requests a conference with the House of Represent25 atives or the Senate, as the case may be, on the disagreeing
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1 votes thereon, the House receiving the request shall be con2 sidered to have disagreed to the amendment of the other

3 House and agreed to the conference requested by that House.

4 (f) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, the

5 term ‘‘legislative day’’ means a day on which the House

6 of Representatives or the Senate, as appropriate, is in ses7 sion.

8 (g) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The provi9 sions of this section are enacted by the Congress—

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

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

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

13 and shall supersede other rules only to the extent that

14 they are inconsistent therewith; and

15 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

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

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

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

22 (1) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS DERIVED FROM

23 TAX ON FOREIGN RUM.—During the period beginning

24 October 1, 1997, and ending on the date the President

25 determines that all referenda required by this Act
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1 have been held, from the amounts covered into the

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

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Secretary of

4 the Treasury—

5 (A) upon request and in the amounts iden6 tified from time to time by the President, shall

7 make the amounts so identified available to the

8 treasury of Puerto Rico for the purposes specified

9 in subsection (b); and

10 (B) shall transfer all remaining amounts to

11 the treasury of Puerto Rico, as under current

12 law.

13 (2) REPORT OF REFERENDA EXPENDITURES.—

14 Within 180 days after each referendum required by

15 this Act, and after the end of the period specified in

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

17 Government of Puerto Rico, shall submit a report to

18 the United States Senate and United States House of

19 Representatives on the amounts made available under

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

21 the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for

22 referenda pursuant to this Act.

23 (b) GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING REFERENDA AND

24 VOTER EDUCATION.—From amounts made available under

25 subsection (a)(1), the Government of Puerto Rico shall make
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1 grants to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico

2 for referenda held pursuant to the terms of this Act, as fol3 lows:

4 (1) 50 percent shall be available only for costs of

5 conducting the referenda.

6 (2) 50 percent shall be available only for voter

7 education funds for the central ruling body of the po8 litical party, parties, or other qualifying entities ad9 vocating a particular ballot choice. The amount allo10 cated for advocating a ballot choice under this para11 graph shall be apportioned equally among the parties

12 advocating that choice.

13 (c) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—In addition to

14 amounts made available by this Act, the Puerto Rico Legis15 lature may allocate additional resources for administrative

16 and voter education costs to each party so long as the dis17 tribution of funds is consistent with the apportionment re18 quirements of subsection (b).