House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the United States should upgrade Puerto Rico to a state now that the territory’s residents voted in favor of it in a weekend referendum.

“The voters who participated in Puerto Rico’s status referendum expressed an unambiguous desire to continue seeking a future in common with the United States as an equal member of our union,” Hoyer said Monday. “I hope Congress and the administration will listen to those voices and enable Puerto Rico to become the 51st state. Its people — already American citizens — deserve full and equal representation in the Congress and equal treatment by federal agencies.”