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The Status Vote in Puerto Rico: Clarifying the Ballot Choices
[It] is quite understandable that Puerto Ricans seek
to preserve a cultural sense of identity. In this regard, it should be noted
that under commonwealth status Congress has greater discretion to regulate
Puerto Rico's affairs by federal law (e.g., current or additional English
language requirements) than if Puerto Rico was a state or independent nation.
If U.S. national sovereignty continues, only as a state would Puerto Rico
have permanent 10th Amendment powers over its non-federal affairs, as well
as voting power in Congress -Dick Thornburgh |
Federal taxation could be imposed on commonwealth under
legislation introduced in Congress requiring the Treasury Department to
report on Federal Program costs to the island. H.R. 4769
"The Federal government needs to know if it is
subsidizing an education system in which the students of Puerto Rico, who
want greater access to English language education, are being denied the
opportunity." - Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), The English Empowerment Act,
H.R. 4766
[I]t is possible to show that in 1994, the average Puerto
Rican had an income of almost $6,000 less than the one he would have received,
had the Puerto Rican economy converged to Mississippi, the poorest state
in the Union. Accumulating this loss from 1955 to 1994 implies that each
Puerto Rican could have been $110,000 wealthier by 1994
UNITED STATES - The independence option for Puerto Rico...poses
enormous potential risks...and possibly significant bail-out costs in the
event of political or economic crisis.
PUERTO RICO - [As] a result of normal investor behavior
and the aspirations and needs of its citizens, the costs of independence
would be staggering.
It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the Senate supports and recognizes the right of United
States citizens residing in Puerto Rico to express democratically their
views regarding their future political status through a referendum or other
public forum, and to communicate those views to the President and Congress;
and
(2) the Federal Government should review any such communication.
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Romero-Barcelo said he believes the Catholic hierarchy
of Puerto Rico...at times has been critical of statehood. [H]e thinks Puerto
Rico's three bishops may fear they will lose their status if Puerto Rico
becomes a state and the Church falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S.
Catholic bishops.
"After 500 years of colonial rule...it is time
for us to determine whether the political status of our island will be finally
resolved or whether we will languish in the quagmire of colonialism that
keeps us divided as well as socially, politically and economically impoverished."
-Luiso Rosselló Nevares
– HERALD WHITE PAPERS –
The record before Congress is now
clear that permanent union and irrevocable U.S. citizenship can not be obtained
through commonwealth, even if it is reformed as proposed in the 1993 commonwealth
definition. Since only statehood provides the constitutionally guaranteed
status and citizenship included in the commonwealth definition, the real
question arising from the 1993 referendum results is how those who voted
for commonwealth with permanent union and irrevocable U.S. citizenship intend
to achieve that result if not through statehood.
"We will be repeating the mistakes
of 1952 if we do not inform the people of Puerto Rico that individual U.S.
citizenship is protected under commonwealth for the individual to whom it
is already granted against arbitrary loss, regulation or restriction, but
that the conferral of U.S. citizenship in the future is discretionary and
could be withdrawn."
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