According to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House will vote on H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, later this week. The legislation provides Puerto Rico a two stage voting process and makes some non-resident Puerto Ricans eligible to vote on Puerto Rican statehood. This legislation has rigged the process in favor of making Puerto Rico the 51st state and is not a fair way to force statehood on a Commonwealth whose people may not want it. Furthermore, this may be an expensive proposition for the American people who are already on the hook for approximately $12.9 trillion in national debt.
This bill attempts to rig the voting process and denies the American people a real say on the issue of whether they want to allow Puerto Rico to be granted statehood. The fact of the matter is that Puerto Ricans have rejected statehood numerous times and this bill seems to have been written in a way to fast track statehood without a majority of Puerto Ricans favoring the idea. Furthermore, the people of the United States should be allowed a vote on whether they want to admit Puerto Rico as a new state. If the people of Puerto Rico can vote, the people of the United States should have a vote.
The legislation contains many questionable provisions. First, the legislation sets up a voting process rigged for success. The legislation sets up a preliminary vote and the voters are given two options. If a majority of Puerto Ricans vote in favor of changing the status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to “a different political status,” then a second vote would be scheduled to poll voters on the following three options:
“Independence: Puerto Rico should become fully independent from the United States;”
“Sovereignty in Association with the United States: Puerto Rico and the United States should form a political association between sovereign nations that will not be subject to the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution;” and,
“Statehood: Puerto Rico should be admitted as a State of the Union.”
Clearly, a plurality of the people of Puerto Rico could vote for “Statehood” without a majority of the people voting ever supporting the idea. The people of Puerto Rico have rejected statehood three times and it seems that this vote is set up to allow a simply plurality of the people to carry the day.
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9 comments:
Not a peep from the media...guess they planned to ram this one through too.
If passed, entitlements would cost 3 billion yearly for Puerto Rico.
WTF
PR residents don't currently pay US taxes (except for Social Security). As a State, that would change.
Another attempt to get more votes for the liberals.
The vote is scheduled for today.
Would they become an english speaking state or would we become a bi-lingual country for Canada. There are many questions to be asked and settled before this should be allowed to proceed.
When called today Kratovil was in a meeting learning how he was to vote.
When asked Kratovil's position, the staffer had no notes on that.
Guess he had not yet received his instructions.
Kratovil IS a co-sponsor!
Their hope is for more voters since amnesty is in trouble.
It is shameful to use Puerto Rico as their bargaining pawn.
These proud people have refused statehood numerous times.
This bill would permit non-resident Puerto Ricans (those in U.S.) to vote and possiblby overrule actual island residents.
Call Kratovil. Vote is today!
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