|
 |
|
|
|
HARTFORD COURANT "A CHOICE FOR PUERTO RICO? HOUSE PASSES BILL FOR PLEBISCITE ON ISLAND'S FUTURE" MICHAEL REMEZ; Courant Staff Writer (03/05/98, Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 1998) A last-second vote switch broke a deadlock in the House of Representatives late Wednesday to pass a measure that would allow residents of Puerto Rico to determine the future of their island. As the dramatic vote unfolded, the advantage switched back and forth between supporters and opponents of the proposed plebiscite. At the last moment, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., apparently after heavy arm twisting, switched his no vote to yes. As the final vote was announced -- 209-208 -- supporters of the bill on the House floor and in the visitors' gallery erupted in boisterous applause and cheering. Connecticut's four Democrats -- Reps. Barbara B. Kennelly, Rosa L. DeLauro, Sam Gejdenson and James H. Maloney -- supported the measure, while the state's two Republicans, Reps. Christopher Shays and Nancy L. Johnson, voted against it. Pomeroy said only that he was comfortable with his vote. Senate action on the bill is uncertain. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said that the Senate's tight schedule might not allow time to consider the measure this year. The bill calls for a congressionally sanctioned plebiscite in which the people of Puerto Rico would choose among statehood, independence or continued commonwealth status. It has been watched closely by the large Puerto Rican populations in Hartford and other Connecticut cities. Late in the day, the House overwhelmingly rejected, 356-56, an amendment that would have allowed Puerto Ricans born on the island but living on the mainland to take part in the vote. Earlier, supporters of the controversial bill saw its chances boosted when lawmakers gutted an amendment that would have mandated English as the official language of government and the schools if Puerto Rico were to become a state. That amendment, sponsored by Rep. Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y., was viewed by the bill's supporters as a poison pill intended to strip away support. Solomon, though, said his intent was genuine. He said the people of Puerto Rico should know going into any plebiscite that English -- not Spanish -- is the language of government, commerce and education in the rest of the United States. "For most of our nation's history, the English language has been the key to integrating new Americans as well as the glue that has held our people together," Solomon told his colleagues. But opponents said his amendment would place requirements on Puerto Rico that are not now placed on any other state. Others said this bill was not the proper place to debate whether English should be the official language of the United States. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., supports that notion, but he proposed a substitute for Solomon's amendment that would place the same language requirements on Puerto Rico that are placed on any other state. The issue before Congress, Burton said, is whether the people of Puerto Rico should be given the power to determine their own future. His replacement amendment was adopted 238-182, with the Democrats in Connecticut's delegation supporting the change. Johnson and Shays voted against Burton's proposal. Both said later they agreed with Solomon. Puerto Ricans, both on the island and the mainland, are deeply divided over the status question. In 1993, the government of Puerto Rico conducted its own vote, which produced inconclusive results. In that vote, 48.4 percent favored commonwealth status, 46.2 percent favored statehood and 4.4 percent chose independence. The government of Puerto Rico asked Congress to authorize its own plebiscite to start the process toward settling the island's status once and for all. The United States took control of Puerto Rico from Spain 100 years ago at the close of the Spanish- American War. Residents of the island are U.S. citizens, but they have no voting representation in Congress. They can be drafted for military service, but they cannot vote for president. On the other hand, the island benefits from many federal programs while its residents pay no federal income tax on money earned in Puerto Rico. Many Puerto Ricans spend time on both the island and the mainland. Most on the mainland have family on the island. Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said Puerto Ricans on the mainland therefore have a large stake in the outcome of the status debate and should be allowed to vote. Rep. Donald Young, R-Alaska and chief sponsor of the bill, said he would agree to a Serrano amendment that would have allowed that to take place. As the sponsor, he could accept the change to the bill without a vote if no one objected. But Solomon did object, forcing a lopsided vote against the proposal. The six Connecticut representatives voted with the 57 supporting Serrano. After the vote, Young said the provision is fair and could be added later by the Senate. The measure has been highly controversial in Puerto Rico, largely because supporters of the commonwealth option believe drafters of the bill unfairly presented their position. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said their definition presented an unrealistic mix of the benefits of both independence and statehood. But Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., said the measure is rigged toward statehood. "This bill is the product of a flawed legislative process designed to produce a specific result," Velazquez said. "H.R. 856 is a one-sided bill biased in favor of statehood." [PHOTO: (b&w), Associated Press; Caption: AT EL POPULAR, a San Juan restaurant frequented by supporters of continued commonwealth status for Puerto Rico, patrons Julio Caceres and Miguel Ramos watch televised congressional debate Wednesday. The House debated a bill to hold a plebiscite on commonwealth status, statehood or independence for the island.]
|
