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The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill intended to give Puerto Rico the freedom to choose whether to become a US state or secede from the country entirely.
Sixteen Republicans joined 217 Democrats for a final vote tally of 233 to 191.
The vast majority of Republican lawmakers opposed the bill. Several shared concerns directly with DailyMail.com just before the final vote.
The legislation would allow Puerto Rico to hold its first binding referendum on its sovereign status.
Puerto Ricans could choose to become the 51st state in the United States, break with full independence, or be an independent country with ties to the United States.
But his move on Thursday was largely symbolic. The bill now advances to the Senate, where it is unlikely to get the 10 Republican votes needed for passage.
The Republican Party has long opposed Puerto Rico obtaining statehood.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham recently told a public event that the territory that wins statehood “dilutes our power.”
But among the Republicans who celebrated the passage of the bill was Rep. Jenniffer González Colón, Puerto Rico’s general representative in the House.
‘Today is a truly historic day for Puerto Rico. Ironically, it is also a perfect example of the island’s colonial reality,’ González Colón said in the Chamber just before the vote.
The general representative of the Puerto Rico Congress spoke in favor of the bill in plenary session of the House on Thursday.
He noted that he represents a territory of 3.2 US citizens, “more voters than anyone in this chamber.”
“And yet, as we consider a bill that I helped write, a bill that will directly affect the lives of every citizen that I represent, I still have to trust and depend on everyone here because I can’t vote on the floor,” he said. Gonzalez Colon.
‘Today Congress takes a step to finally assume its responsibility… to give the people of Puerto Rico an opportunity, a federally binding option, to democratically decide our future.’
But two members of his caucus told DailyMail.com they were opposed to the bill, accusing it of being rushed through the House at the tail end of the Democratic majority.
A third, Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, simply told DailyMail.com that he opposed the bill, but did not say why.
Both Florida’s Rep. Byron Donalds and Indiana’s Rep. Jim Banks told DailyMail.com that House Democrats should focus on other issues like the Southwest border crisis with its final days in the majority.
‘First of all, have we even deliberated on Puerto Rican statehood here? No. Again, House Speaker Pelosi just throws things on the floor at the last minute,” Donalds said just before entering the House chamber.
‘First of all, have we even deliberated on Puerto Rican statehood here? No. Once again, House Speaker Pelosi just throws things on the floor at the last minute,’ Republican Rep. Byron Donalds said furiously in comments to DailyMail.com.
‘There has been no deliberation… I just think it’s the wrong way. Why are we doing this at the 11th hour of Congress 117?’
When asked what Democrats should focus on, Donalds said: “Securing the border.”
Banks spoke to DailyMail.com immediately after casting her ‘no’ vote. While he was in favor of Puerto Rican statehood in principle, the Indiana Republican shared his reservations about how the bill was crafted and its implications for US taxpayers.
‘I have supported Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican statehood before. However, I am concerned about how this is written: it would, by the way the vote would be conducted, allow Puerto Rico to become independent,” Banks explained.
“And then the liability of American taxpayers if that happened.”
Instead, he urged the majority party to work on solutions to the growing border crisis, just as a COVID-era removal policy is about to expire.
Puerto Rico has been a US territory since 1898 after the Spanish-American War.
“There’s a lot more you should be focusing on…Most importantly, the crisis at the border and the repeal of Title 42,” he said.
Banks called the growing number of migrants trying to cross the border “the largest humanitarian crisis in the history of the United States, which [Democrats’] the policies are directly responsible, and have continued to completely ignore it and act as if it weren’t happening.’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement praising the passage of the bill.
“Today’s historic vote is a key step to ensure that the future of Puerto Rico is self-chosen,” Pelosi said.
“For more than a century, Puerto Rico has been governed under a political system imposed by outside forces rather than established by its own people.”