I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 856

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

A BILL

To provide a process leading to full self-government for

Puerto Rico.
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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.

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

9 The Congress finds the following:

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

11 and came under this Nation’s sovereignty pursuant

12 to the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American

13 War in 1898. Article IX of the Treaty of Paris ex14 pressly recognizes the authority of Congress to pro15 vide for the political status of the inhabitants of the

16 territory.

17 (2) Consistent with establishment of United

18 States nationality for inhabitants of Puerto Rico

19 under the Treaty of Paris, Congress has exercised

20 its powers under the Territorial Clause of the Con21 stitution (article IV, section 3, clause 2) to provide
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1 by statute for the citizenship status of persons born

2 in Puerto Rico, including extension of special statu3 tory United States citizenship from 1917 to the

4 present.

5 (3) Consistent with the Territorial Clause and

6 rulings of the United States Supreme Court, partial

7 application of the United States Constitution has

8 been established in the unincorporated territories of

9 the United States including Puerto Rico.

10 (4) In 1950 Congress prescribed a procedure

11 for instituting internal self-government for Puerto

12 Rico pursuant to statutory authorization for a local

13 constitution. A local constitution was approved by

14 the people, amended and conditionally approved by

15 Congress, and thereupon given effect in 1952 after

16 acceptance of congressional conditions by the Puerto

17 Rico Constitutional Convention and an appropriate

18 proclamation by the Governor. The approved con19 stitution established the structure for constitutional

20 government in respect of internal affairs without al21 tering Puerto Rico’s fundamental political, social,

22 and economic relationship with the United States

23 and without restricting the authority of Congress

24 under the Territorial Clause to determine the appli25 cation of Federal law to Puerto Rico, resulting in
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1 the present ‘‘Commonwealth’’ structure for local

2 self-government. The Commonwealth remains an un3 incorporated territory and does not have the status

4 of ‘‘free association’’ with the United States as that

5 status is defined under United States law or inter6 national practice.

7 (5) In 1953 the United States transmitted to

8 the Secretary-General of the United Nations for cir9 culation to its Members a formal notification that

10 the United States no longer would transmit informa11 tion regarding Puerto Rico to the United Nations

12 pursuant to Article 73(e) of its Charter. The formal

13 United States notification document informed the

14 United Nations that the cessation of information on

15 Puerto Rico was based on the ‘‘new constitutional

16 arrangements’’ in the territory, and the United

17 States expressly defined the scope of the ‘‘full meas18 ure’’ of local self-government in Puerto Rico as ex19 tending to matters of ‘‘internal government and ad20 ministration, subject only to compliance with appli21 cable provisions of the Federal Constitution, the

22 Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act and the acts of

23 Congress authorizing and approving the Constitu24 tion, as may be interpreted by judicial decision.’’.
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1 Thereafter, the General Assembly of the United Na2 tions, based upon consent of the inhabitants of the

3 territory and the United States explanation of the

4 new status as approved by Congress, adopted Reso5 lution 748 (VIII) by a vote of 22 to 18 with 19

6 abstentions, thereby accepting the United States de7 termination to cease reporting to the United Nations

8 on the status of Puerto Rico.

9 (6) In 1960 the United Nations General Assem10 bly approved Resolution 1541 (XV), clarifying that

11 under United Nations standards regarding the polit12 ical status options available to the people of terri13 tories yet to complete the process for achieving full

14 self-government, the three established forms of full

15 self-government are national independence, free as16 sociation based on separate sovereignty, or full inte17 gration with another nation on the basis of equality.

18 (7) The ruling of the United States Supreme

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

20 651) confirmed that Congress continues to exercise

21 authority over Puerto Rico as territory ‘‘belonging to

22 the United States’’ pursuant to the Territorial

23 Clause found at Article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the

24 United States Constitution, a judicial interpretation

25 of Puerto Rico’s status which is in accordance with
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1 the clear intent of Congress that establishment of

2 local constitutional government in 1952 did not alter

3 Puerto Rico’s status as an unincorporated United

4 States territory.

5 (8) In a joint letter dated January 17, 1989,

6 cosigned by the Governor of Puerto Rico in his ca7 pacity as president of one of Puerto Rico’s principal

8 political parties and the presidents of the two other

9 principal political parties of Puerto Rico, the United

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

11 Puerto Rico wish to be consulted as to their pref12 erence with regards to their ultimate political sta13 tus’’, and the joint letter stated ‘‘. . . that since

14 Puerto Rico came under the sovereignty of the Unit15 ed States of America through the Treaty of Paris in

16 1898, the People of Puerto Rico have not been for17 mally consulted by the United States of America as

18 to their choice of their ultimate political status’’.

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

20 President George Bush urged the Congress to take

21 the necessary steps to authorize a federally recog22 nized process allowing the people of Puerto Rico, for

23 the first time since the Treaty of Paris entered into

24 force, to freely express their wishes regarding their

25 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 (10) 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 (11) 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 policy concerning issues affecting Puerto

15 Rico, including the November 1993 plebiscite.

16 (12) There have been inconsistent and conflict17 ing interpretations of the 1993 plebiscite results,

18 and under the Territorial Clause of the Constitution,

19 Congress has the authority and responsibility to de20 termine Federal policy and clarify status issues in

21 order to advance the self-determination process in

22 Puerto Rico.

23 (13) On December 14, 1994, the Puerto Rico

24 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 (14) Nearly 4,000,000 United States citizens

6 live in the islands of Puerto Rico, which have been

7 under United States sovereignty and within the

8 United States customs territory for almost 100

9 years, making Puerto Rico the oldest, largest, and

10 most populous United States island territory at the

11 southeastern-most boundary of our Nation, located

12 astride the strategic shipping lanes of the Atlantic

13 Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

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

16 status which is based on either separate Puerto

17 Rican sovereignty and nationality or full and equal

18 United States nationality and citizenship through

19 membership in the Union and under which Puerto

20 Rico is no longer an unincorporated territory subject

21 to the plenary authority of Congress arising from

22 the Territorial Clause.

23 SEC. 3. POLICY.

24 (a) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITMENT.—In recognition

25 of the significant level of local self-government which has
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1 been attained by Puerto Rico, and the responsibility of the

2 Federal Government to enable the people of the territory

3 to freely express their wishes regarding political status and

4 achieve full self-government, this Act is adopted with a

5 commitment to encourage the development and implemen6 tation of procedures through which the permanent politi7 cal status of the people of Puerto Rico can be determined.

8 (b) OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.—It is the policy of the

9 Congress that English shall be the common language of

10 mutual understanding in the United States, and that this

11 policy shall apply in all of the States duly and freely ad12 mitted to the Union. The Congress recognizes that at the

13 present time, Spanish and English are the joint official

14 languages of Puerto Rico, and have been for nearly 100

15 years; that English is the official language of Federal

16 courts in Puerto Rico; that the ability to speak English

17 is a requirement for Federal jury services; yet Spanish

18 rather than English is currently the predominant language

19 used by the majority of the people of Puerto Rico; and

20 that Congress has the authority to expand existing Eng21 lish language requirements in the Commonwealth of Puer22 to Rico. In the event that the referenda held under this

23 Act result in approval of sovereignty leading to Statehood,

24 it is anticipated that upon accession to Statehood, English
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1 would become the official language of the Federal Govern2 ment in Puerto Rico to the same extent as Federal law

3 then requires throughout the United States. Congress also

4 recognizes the significant advantage that proficiency in

5 Spanish as well as English has bestowed on the people

6 of Puerto Rico, and further that this will serve the best

7 interests of both Puerto Rico and the rest of the United

8 States in our mutual dealings in the Caribbean, Latin

9 America, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

10 SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR PUERTO RICAN FULL SELF-GOVERN11 MENT, INCLUDING THE INITIAL DECISION

12 STAGE, TRANSITION STAGE, AND IMPLEMEN13 TATION STAGE.

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

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

16 December 31, 1998. The referendum shall be held pursu17 ant to this Act and in accordance with the applicable pro18 visions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law and other relevant

19 statutes consistent with this Act. Approval of a status op20 tion must be by a majority of the valid votes cast. The

21 referendum shall be on the approval of 1 of the 3 options

22 presented on the ballot as follows:

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

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

25 marked will not be counted.
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1 ‘‘A. COMMONWEALTH.—If you agree, mark here

2 lll

3 ‘‘Puerto Rico should retain Commonwealth, in

4 which—

5 ‘‘(1) Puerto Rico continues the present Com6 monwealth structure for self government with re7 spect to internal affairs and administration;

8 ‘‘(2) provisions of the Constitution and laws of

9 the United States apply to Puerto Rico as deter10 mined by Congress;

11 ‘‘(3) Puerto Rico remains a locally self-govern12 ing unincorporated territory of the United States;

13 ‘‘(4) continuation or modification of current

14 Federal law and policy applicable to Puerto Rico re15 mains within the discretion of Congress; and

16 ‘‘(5) the ultimate status of Puerto Rico will be

17 determined through a process authorized by Con18 gress which includes self determination by the people

19 of Puerto Rico in periodic referenda.

20 ‘‘B. SEPARATE SOVEREIGNTY.—If you agree, mark

21 here lll

22 ‘‘Puerto Rico should become fully self governing

23 through separate sovereignty leading to independence or

24 free association, in which—
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1 ‘‘(1) Puerto Rico is a sovereign nation with full

2 authority and responsibility for its internal and ex3 ternal affairs and has the capacity to exercise in its

4 own name and right the powers of government with

5 respect to its territory and population;

6 ‘‘(2) a negotiated treaty of friendship and co7 operation, or an international bilateral pact of free

8 association terminable at will by either Puerto Rico

9 or the United States, defines future relations be10 tween Puerto Rico and the United States, providing

11 for cooperation and assistance in matters of shared

12 interest as agreed and approved by Puerto Rico and

13 the United States pursuant to this Act and their re14 spective constitutional processes;

15 ‘‘(3) a constitution democratically instituted by

16 the people of Puerto Rico, establishing a republican

17 form of full self-government and securing the rights

18 of citizens of the Puerto Rican nation, is the su19 preme law, and the Constitution and laws of the

20 United States no longer apply in Puerto Rico;

21 ‘‘(4) The people of Puerto Rico owe allegiance

22 to the sovereign nation of Puerto Rico and have the

23 nationality, and citizenship thereof; United States

24 sovereignty, nationality, and citizenship in Puerto

25 Rico is ended; birth in Puerto Rico and relationship
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1 to persons with statutory United States citizenship

2 by birth in the former territory are not bases for

3 United States nationality or citizenship, except that

4 persons who had such United States citizenship have

5 a statutory right to retain United States nationality

6 and citizenship for life, by entitlement or election as

7 provided by the United States Congress, based on

8 continued allegiance to the United States: Provided,

9 That such persons will not have this statutory Unit10 ed States nationality and citizenship status upon

11 having or maintaining allegiance, nationality, and

12 citizenship rights in any sovereign nation other than

13 the United States;

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

15 United States as a sovereign nation and establish16 ment of government-to-government relations on the

17 basis of comity and reciprocity, Puerto Rico’s rep18 resentation to the United States is accorded full dip19 lomatic status;

20 ‘‘(6) Puerto Rico is eligible for United States

21 assistance provided on a government-to-government

22 basis, including foreign aid or programmatic assist23 ance, at levels subject to agreement by the United

24 States and Puerto Rico;
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1 ‘‘(7) property rights and previously acquired

2 rights vested by employment under laws of Puerto

3 Rico or the United States are honored, and where

4 determined necessary such rights are promptly ad5 justed and settled consistent with government-to6 government agreements implementing the separation

7 of sovereignty; and

8 ‘‘(8) Puerto Rico is outside the customs terri9 tory of the United States, and trade between the

10 United States and Puerto Rico is based on a treaty.

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

12 ‘‘Puerto Rico should become fully self governing

13 through United States sovereignty leading to Statehood,

14 in which—

15 ‘‘(1) the people of Puerto Rico are fully self16 governing with their rights secured under the United

17 States Constitution, which is the supreme law and

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

19 of the Union;

20 ‘‘(2) the sovereign State of Puerto Rico is in

21 permanent union with the United States, and powers

22 not delegated to the Federal Government or prohib23 ited to the States by the United States Constitution

24 are reserved to the people of Puerto Rico or the

25 State Government;
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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) residents of Puerto Rico have equal rights

6 and benefits as well as equal duties and responsibil7 ities of citizenship, including payment of Federal

8 taxes, as those in the several States;

9 ‘‘(5) Puerto Rico is represented by two mem10 bers in the United States Senate and is represented

11 in the House of Representatives proportionate to the

12 population;

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

14 enfranchised to vote in elections for the President

15 and Vice President of the United States; and

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

17 and communication in Federal courts and Federal

18 agencies as made applicable by Federal law to every

19 other State, and Puerto Rico is enabled to expand

20 and build upon existing law establishing English as

21 an official language of the State government, courts,

22 and agencies.’’.

23 (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 Govern3 ment of Puerto Rico certifying approval of a ballot

4 choice of full self-government in a referendum held

5 pursuant to subsection (a), the President shall de6 velop and submit to Congress legislation for a tran7 sition plan of 10 years minimum which leads to full

8 self-government for Puerto Rico consistent with the

9 terms of this Act and in consultation with officials

10 of the three branches of the Government of Puerto

11 Rico, the principal political parties of Puerto Rico,

12 and other interested persons as may be appropriate.

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

14 of separate sovereignty, the Legislature of Puerto

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

16 the calling of a constituent convention to formulate,

17 in accordance with procedures prescribed by law,

18 Puerto Rico’s proposals and recommendations to im19 plement the referendum results. If a convention is

20 called for this purpose, any proposals and rec21 ommendations formally adopted by such convention

22 within time limits of this Act shall be transmitted to

23 Congress by the President with the transition plan

24 required by this section, along with the views of the
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1 President regarding the compatibility of such pro2 posals and recommendations with the United States

3 Constitution and this Act, and identifying which, if

4 any, of such proposals and recommendations have

5 been addressed in the President’s proposed transi6 tion plan.

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

8 of United States sovereignty leading to Statehood,

9 the President shall include in the transition plan

10 provided for in this Act, proposals and incentives to

11 increase the opportunities of the people of Puerto

12 Rico to learn to speak, read, write, and understand

13 English fully, including but not limited to, the teach14 ing of English in public schools, fellowships, and

15 scholarships. The transition plan should promote the

16 usage of English by the United States citizens of

17 Puerto Rico, in order to best allow for—

18 (i) the enhancement of the century old

19 practice of English as an official language of

20 Puerto Rico, consistent with the preservation of

21 our Nation’s unity in diversity and the preven22 tion of divisions along linguistic lines;

23 (ii) the use of language skills necessary to

24 contribute most effectively to the Nation in all
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1 aspects, including but not limited to Hemi2 spheric trade, and for citizens to enjoy the full

3 rights and benefits of their citizenship;

4 (iii) the promotion of efficiency and fair5 ness to all people in the conduct of the Federal

6 and State government’s official business; and

7 (iv) the ability of all citizens to take full

8 advantage of the economical, educational, and

9 occupational opportunities through full integra10 tion with the United States.

11 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

12 plan shall be considered by the Congress in accord13 ance with section 6.

14 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

15 (A) Not later than 180 days after enact16 ment of an Act pursuant to paragraph (1) pro17 viding for the transition to full self-government

18 for Puerto Rico as approved in the initial deci19 sion referendum held under subsection (a), a

20 referendum shall be held under the applicable

21 provisions of Puerto Rico’s electoral law on the

22 question of approval of the transition plan.

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

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

2 States.

3 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR TRANSITION PLAN.—

4 The President of the United States shall issue a

5 proclamation announcing the effective date of the

6 transition plan to full self-government for Puerto

7 Rico.

8 (c) IMPLEMENTATION STAGE.—

9 (1) PRESIDENTIAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not

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

11 of the transition provided for in the transition plan

12 approved under subsection (b), the President shall

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

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

17 (2) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The

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

20 (3) PUERTO RICAN APPROVAL.—

21 (A) Within 180 days after enactment of

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

24 held under the applicable provisions of Puerto
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1 Rico’s electoral laws on the question of the ap2 proval of the terms of implementation for full

3 self-government for Puerto Rico.

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

5 valid votes cast. The results of the referendum

6 shall be certified to the President of the United

7 States.

8 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF FULL SELF-GOVERN9 MENT.—The President of the United States shall

10 issue a proclamation announcing the date of imple11 mentation of full self-government for Puerto Rico.

12 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REFERENDA, IN13 CLUDING INCONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM AND

14 APPLICABLE LAWS.

15 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—

16 (1) REFERENDA UNDER PUERTO RICAN

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

18 conducted in accordance with the applicable laws of

19 Puerto Rico, including laws of Puerto Rico under

20 which voter eligibility is determined and which re21 quire United States citizenship and establish other

22 statutory requirements for voter eligibility of resi23 dents and nonresidents.

24 (2) FEDERAL LAWS.—The Federal laws appli25 cable to the election of the Resident Commissioner
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1 of Puerto Rico shall, as appropriate and consistent

2 with this Act, also apply to the referenda. Any ref3 erence in such Federal laws to elections shall be con4 sidered, as appropriate, to be a reference to the

5 referenda, unless it would frustrate the purposes of

6 this Act.

7 (b) CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDA RESULTS.—The

8 results of each referendum held under this Act shall be

9 certified to the President of the United States and the

10 Senate and House of Representatives of the United States

11 by the Government of Puerto Rico.

12 (c) CONSULTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IN13 CONCLUSIVE REFERENDUM.—

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

15 section 4(b) or (c) of this Act does not result in ap16 proval of a fully self-governing status, the President,

17 in consultation with officials of the three branches of

18 the Government of Puerto Rico, the principal politi19 cal parties of Puerto Rico, and other interested per20 sons as may be appropriate, shall make rec21 ommendations to the Congress within 180 days of

22 receipt of the results of the referendum.

23 (2) EXISTING STRUCTURE TO REMAIN IN EF24 FECT.—If the inhabitants of the territory do not
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1 achieve full self-governance through either integra2 tion into the Union or separate sovereignty in the

3 form of independence or free association, Puerto

4 Rico will remain an unincorporated territory of the

5 United States, subject to the authority of Congress

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

7 States Constitution. In that event, the existing Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico structure for local self9 government will remain in effect, subject to such

10 other measures as may be adopted by Congress in

11 the exercise of it’s Territorial Clause powers to de12 termine the disposition of the territory and status of

13 it’s inhabitants.

14 (3) AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS TO DETERMINE

15 STATUS.—Since current unincorporated territory

16 status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is not

17 a permanent, unalterable or guaranteed status under

18 the Constitution of the United States, Congress re19 tains plenary authority and responsibility to deter20 mine a permanent status for Puerto Rico consistent

21 with the national interest. The Congress historically

22 has recognized a commitment to take into consider23 ation the freely expressed wishes of the people of

24 Puerto Rico regarding their future political status.

25 This policy is consistent with respect for the right of
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1 self-determination in areas which are not fully self2 governing, but does not constitute a legal restriction

3 or binding limitation on the Territorial Clause pow4 ers of Congress to determine a permanent status of

5 Puerto Rico. Nor does any such restriction or limita6 tion arise from the Puerto Rico Federal Relations

7 Act (48 U.S.C. 731 et seq.).

8 (4) ADDITIONAL REFERENDA.—To ensure that

9 the Congress is able on a continuing basis to exer10 cise its Territorial Clause powers with due regard

11 for the wishes of the people of Puerto Rico respect12 ing resolution of Puerto Rico’s permanent future po13 litical status, in the event that a referendum con14 ducted under section four is inconclusive as provided

15 in this subsection, or a majority vote to continue the

16 Commonwealth structure as a territory, there shall

17 be another referendum in accordance with this Act

18 prior to the expiration of a period of four years from

19 the date such inconclusive results are certified or de20 termined. This procedure shall be repeated every

21 four years, but not in a general election year, until

22 Puerto Rico’s unincorporated territory status is ter23 minated in favor of a recognized form of full self24 government in accordance with this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDER2 ATION OF LEGISLATION.

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

4 of Representatives (or his designee) and the majority lead5 er of the Senate (or his designee) shall each introduce leg6 islation (by request) providing for the transition plan

7 under section 4(b) and the implementation recommenda8 tion under section 4(c) not later than 5 legislative days

9 after the date of receipt by Congress of the submission

10 by the President under that section, as the case may be.

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

12 the date of introduction to the appropriate committee or

13 committees in accordance with rules of the respective

14 Houses. The legislation shall be reported not later than

15 the 120th calendar day after the date of its introduction.

16 If any such committee fails to report the bill within that

17 period, that committee shall be automatically discharged

18 from consideration of the legislation, and the legislation

19 shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.

20 (c) CONSIDERATION.—

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

22 on which the last committee of the House of Rep23 resentatives or the Senate, as the case may be, has

24 reported or been discharged from further consider25 ation of such legislation, it is in order after the legis26 lation has been on the calendar for 14 legislative
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1 days for any Member of that House in favor of the

2 legislation to move to proceed to the consideration of

3 the legislation (after consultation with the presiding

4 officer of that House as to scheduling) to move to

5 proceed to its consideration at any time after the

6 third legislative day on which the Member announces

7 to the respective House concerned the Member’s in8 tention to do so. All points of order against the mo9 tion to proceed and against consideration of that

10 motion are waived. The motion is highly privileged

11 in the House of Representatives and is privileged in

12 the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not

13 subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone,

14 or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of

15 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by

16 which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall

17 not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consid18 eration of the legislation is agreed to, the respective

19 House shall immediately proceed to consideration of

20 the legislation without intervening motion (exception

21 one motion to adjourn), order, or other business.

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

23 consideration of the legislation in the Committee of

24 the Whole, the first reading of the legislation shall

25 be dispensed with. General debate shall be confined
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1 to the legislation, and shall not exceed 4 hours

2 equally divided and controlled by a proponent and

3 an opponent of the legislation. After general debate,

4 the legislation shall be considered as read for

5 amendment under the five-minute rule. Consider6 ation of the legislation for amendment shall not ex7 ceed 4 hours excluding time for recorded votes and

8 quorum calls. At the conclusion of the bill for

9 amendment, the Committee shall rise and report the

10 bill to the House with such amendments as may

11 have been adopted. The previous question shall be

12 considered as ordered on the legislation and amend13 ments thereto to final passage without intervening

14 motion, except one motion to recommit with or with15 out instructions. A motion to reconsider the vote on

16 passage of the legislation shall not be in order.

17 (B) In the Senate, debate on the legislation,

18 and all amendments thereto and debatable motions

19 and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited

20 to not more than 25 hours. The time shall be equally

21 divided between, and controlled by, the majority

22 leader and the minority leader or their designees. No

23 amendment that is not germane to the provisions of

24 such legislation shall be received. A motion to fur25 ther limit debate is not debatable.
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1 (3) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair re2 lating to the application of the rules of the Senate

3 or the House of Representatives, as the case may be,

4 to the procedure relating to the legislation described

5 in subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.

6 (d) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.—(1) If, be7 fore the passage by one House of the legislation described

8 in subsection (a) that was introduced in that House, that

9 House receives from the other House the legislation de10 scribed in subsection (a)—

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

12 be referred to a committee and may not be consid13 ered in the House that receives it otherwise than on

14 final passage under subparagraph (B)(ii) or (iii);

15 and

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

17 such legislation with respect to such legislation that

18 was introduced in that House shall be the same as

19 if no legislation had been received from the other

20 House; but

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

22 other House that is identical to the legislation as en23 grossed by the receiving House, the vote on final

24 passage shall be on the legislation of the other

25 House; or
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1 (iii) after passage of the legislation, the legisla2 tion of the other House shall be considered as

3 amended with the text of the legislation just passed

4 and shall be considered as passed, and that House

5 shall be considered to have insisted on its amend6 ment and requested a conference with the other

7 House.

8 (2) Upon disposition of the legislation described in

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

10 other House, it shall no longer be in order to consider such

11 legislation that was introduced in the receiving House.

12 (e) Upon receiving from the other House a message

13 in which that House insists upon its amendment to the

14 legislation and requests a conference with the House of

15 Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be, on the

16 disagreeing votes thereon, the House receiving the request

17 shall be considered to have disagreed to the amendment

18 of the other House and agreed to the conference requested

19 by that House.

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

21 the term ‘‘legislative day’’ means a day on which the

22 House of Representatives or the Senate, as appropriate,

23 is in session.

24 (g) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—The provi25 sions of this section are enacted by the Congress—
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1 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

2 the Senate and the House of Representatives and, as

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

4 House and shall supersede other rules only to the

5 extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

6 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

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

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

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—

13 (1) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS DERIVED FROM

14 TAX ON FOREIGN RUM.—During the period begin15 ning October 1, 1997, and ending on the date the

16 President determines that all referenda required by

17 this Act have been held, from the amounts covered

18 into the treasury of Puerto Rico under section

19 7652(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

20 the Secretary of the Treasury—

21 (A) upon request and in the amounts iden22 tified from time to time by the President, shall

23 make the amounts so identified available to the

24 treasury of Puerto Rico for the purposes speci25 fied in subsection (b); and
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1 (B) shall transfer all remaining amounts to

2 the treasury of Puerto Rico, as under current

3 law.

4 (2) REPORT OF REFERENDA EXPENDITURES.—

5 Within 180 days after each referendum required by

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

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

8 the Government of Puerto Rico, shall submit a re9 port to the United States Senate and United States

10 House of Representatives on the amounts made

11 available under paragraph (1)(A) and all other

12 amounts expended by the State Elections Commis13 sion of Puerto Rico for referenda pursuant to this

14 Act.

15 (b) GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING REFERENDA AND

16 VOTER EDUCATION.—From amounts made available

17 under subsection (a)(1), the Government of Puerto Rico

18 shall make grants to the State Elections Commission of

19 Puerto Rico for referenda held pursuant to the terms of

20 this Act, as follows:

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, parties, or other qualifying entities
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1 advocating a particular ballot choice. The amount al2 located for advocating a ballot choice under this

3 paragraph shall be apportioned equally among the

4 parties advocating that choice.

5 (c) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—In addition to

6 amounts made available by this Act, the Puerto Rico Leg7 islature may allocate additional resources for administra8 tive and voter education costs to each party so long as

9 the distribution of funds is consistent with the apportion10 ment requirements of subsection (b).

Æ