Date: 1990-10-10
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 2 minutes. Mr. Speaker. the intense debate in Puerto Rico on its future political status has effectively prevented action on many very serious problems facing our fellow Americans there for many years. The leader of Puerto Ricos statusbased political parties reached an historic agreement last year to end this debate. It asks for the Congress to commit to act on a status selected in a referendum. As chairman of the Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee. I supported the request. So did President Bush who endorsed it before a jbint session. A bill acted upon by Senate committees is. however. far different from what had been anticipated. S. 712 proposes to automatically Imlilement the status that wins a referendum. Our bill does not. In supporting our bill. H.R. 4765. the Washington Post said that S. 712 was so skewed that it would be better to enact no bill at all. That would be a tragedy for the United States as well as Puerto Rico. Speaker FOLEY and other Members expressed serious concerns about S. When it became clear that S. 712 was in serious trouble. Puerto Ricos leaders agreed with us on alternative legislation that would more accurately reflect their request for the Congress to act on a status selected in the referendum. It became the bill before the House today. H.R. 4765. I introduced it with Insular and International Affairs Subcommittee ranking Republican BOB LAGOMARSINO. Interior and Insular Af-: fairs Committee Chairman Mo UDALL and ranking Republican DoN YOUNG. Rules Committee Chairman JoE MOAKLEY. and ranking Republican: JIMMY QUILLEN. Resident Commissioner JAIME FUSTER. and other Members and with the expressed support of Speaker FOLEY and minority leader MICHEL. H.R. 4765 would authorize a referendum on Puerto Ricos future relationship with the United States and commit to development and consideration of legislation on the results. The substitute before the House was worked out in months of negotiations with the White House and Puerto Ricos parties. As I have indicated. the purpose of the bill is to provide a process for the development or change of Puerto Ricos political status. The objectives are to enable the Puerto Rican people to determine the political status that they want for Puerto Ricos future. to commit the Congress to respond to their decision. and to provide for further mutual consideration of this matter if the process provided for by the bill does not result in the development or change of Puerto Ricos current status. The bill would: Authorize $13.5 million for a referendum in Puerto Rico in 1991 to determine whether the Puerto Rican people want to enter into a new commonwealth relationship with the United States. statehood. independence. or none of these status options. establish a process for the development of legislation to implement a status option selected in this referendum and for the expedited consideration of that legislation in 1992. provide that the implementing legislation would take effect if it is both enacted into law and approved in a referendum in Puerto Rico. and require the development of further recommendations to enable the Puerto Rican people to exercise selfdetermination if there is no majority in the first referendum or if the implementing legislation is not approved by the Congress or the Puerto Rican people. Let me explain the background and the need for this legislation.