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Statement of Dr. Hernan Padilla, Chairman
US Council for Puerto Rico Statehood
December 3, 1998
Good morning, and welcome. My name is Hernan Padilla. I
am chairman of the U.S. Council for Puerto Rico Statehood.
We have invited you here this morning to announce the creation
of the U.S. Council for Puerto Rico Statehood, an organization
dedicated to the education of the American people about Puerto
Rico and its quest for statehood. And to draw your attention
to the historic plebiscite that will be held in Puerto Rico just
10 days from now on December 13 concerning the future political
status of the island.
And most importantly, we want to focus the American public
on Puerto Rico and why our fellow Americans in the 50 existing
states should support and welcome Puerto Rico into the family
of States of the Union.
I predict that the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico will choose
statehood. And when they do, they will have many fellow citizens
here on the mainland who want Puerto Rico as a state and will
work for statehood. People from all walks of life, who are members
of both major political parties. Men and women from many states
in the Union, who represent all races and ethnic groups and whose
ancestors came from many parts of the globe.
The U.S. Council for Puerto Rico Statehood and the other organizations
represented here today will be in the forefront of this movement,
working hard to help Puerto Rico become the 51st state.
A few words about the U.S. Council for Puerto Rico Statehood:
During the past two years, a robust push for Puerto Rico's self
determination has been made in the U.S. Congress. The debate
and struggle in Congress reflects that which the Puerto Rican
people have undergone themselves ever since Puerto Rico came under
the U.S. flag-100 years ago. The Congressional debate clearly
showed me and many of my colleagues that there was a profound
lack of knowledge about and understanding of Puerto Rico on the
part of many Members of Congress, and their constituents. We
concluded that an effort must be made to bring Puerto Rico to
the forefront of national attention. Our purpose is not to lobby
Congress directly, but to focus our efforts on and educate the
American people.
I fully appreciate how difficult it is for American citizens
to focus on issues such as this. The average American family
is concerned about the education of their children, their health
and welfare; the problems of their local community and their own
state as well as world issues that affect our country. In this
environment, it is hard to break into the news, to draw attention
to Puerto Rico's fight for equality. But Puerto Rico relates
to all these themes in a very direct way, as I will explain.
In order to bring national focus to this issue, we have created
the U.S. Council for Puerto Rico Statehood. Our non-profit organization
is dedicated to the education of the American people about Puerto
Rico and why they should support statehood for the island. We
already have active members and supporters from many regions of
our great country: from New York to California; from Alaska to
Florida. We have already started a program of establishing grass
roots organizations throughout the nation, with a goal of having
one in every State in the Union, and are working collaboratively
with existing statehood organizations in a number of states.
Our goal is to have a grass roots effort in every state. Some
of the people here today represent those local organizations.
In addition we will be active in providing information about
Puerto Rico, attending forums on the issue, and supporting others
in their efforts to bring Puerto Rico into the fold.
In that regard, I want to announce today the establishment
of our web site that will provide information on Puerto Rico and
the issue of Puerto Rico statehood. You can all see it at www.prstatehood.com.
As many of you may be aware, legislation was passed in the
House of Representatives this year to establish a process for
Puerto Rico self-determination. Unfortunately, time ran out before
the Senate could deal with similar legislation. But Puerto Rico
will be back on the legislative agenda next year. In the meantime,
the Governor of Puerto Rico requested, and the Puerto Rico legislature
approved, a referendum on the status issue to be held in Puerto
Rico on December 13. The alternatives presented will be based
on definitions of the status alternatives that were placed in
Senate bill, S 472. The people of Puerto Rico will vote from
these alternatives: statehood, commonwealth, free association,
independence, or none of the above.
This is an extraordinary event. It will help determine the
future of 3.8 million American citizens who live in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is now designated a commonwealth. In fact, Puerto
Rico is a territory, a colony. Puerto Rico has been a colony
for a century. It is time for self-determination. Never in
our history has the U.S. turned down a formal petition for statehood
from a territory.
Why are the majority of people in Puerto Rico unhappy about
their political status? One of the most important reasons is
that they do not enjoy the same kind of citizenship as their fellow
Americans in the 50 states. They cannot vote for President.
They do not have the right to choose two Senators and Congressmen
who can look after their interests in Washington and contribute
to national debate on policy and the law. Their citizenship is
not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It is a product of Congressional
action: the Jones act of 1917. What Congress giveth, Congress
can taketh away, or modify, further diminish, limit, or redefine.
All these inequalities and shortcomings can be remedied by statehood.
Why should we, the American people, care about Puerto Rico?
For starters, because our fellow citizens on the island have sent
their sons and daughters to fight for our country in its foreign
wars since the Spanish American war. Over 200,000 soldiers, sailors
and marines have served in America's wars-W.W.I, W.W.II, Korea,
Vietnam, the Gulf War. Over 2,000 made the supreme sacrifice.
Four Puerto Ricans have won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Hundreds of Puerto Rican names are engraved on the granite tablets
of the Vietnam Memorial and on grave markers in Arlington Cemetery.
Americans should care because individual Puerto Ricans have
contributed, and continue to contribute, much to American life
through the arts, literature, science, medicine, and to the economic
well being of our society.
The U.S. should also care about Puerto Rico because as a leader
of the democratic free world, our nation has no business treating
3.8 million of its citizens in an unequal way-it simply must get
out of the "colony" business once and for all.
Finally, Americans should care because the current relationship
between Puerto Rico and the United States is costly in two ways.
The U.S. spends approximately $ 9.7 billion annually in support
of Puerto Rico, while it receives no tax revenues from the island.
But this economic dependency not only is costly for U.S. taxpayers;
it is costly to Puerto Ricans themselves. The lack of economic
growth in Puerto Rico compared to what it could be as a state
is significant. According to recent studies, Puerto Rico as a
state, with the economic growth that can reasonably be projected
that would result from statehood and full integration into the
U.S. economy, would be a net contributor to the U.S. economy.
It's a win-win.
It is imperative that Americans focus now on the political
struggle going on in Puerto Rico. They should be aware of the
plebiscite on December 13th, and what it means to all of us.
I firmly believe that statehood will soon be petitioned for in
the U.S. Congress. The American people must be informed about
Puerto Rico, and let their political representatives know how
they feel. Our organization is here to help educate the American
public on the issue.
We want to send the message to our fellow American citizens
in Puerto Rico that we are here to help make statehood happen.
I would now like to ask some of my fellow USCPRS Board Members
to make a few comments.
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