House Democrats passed a bill that would let Puerto Rico decide its future political status with the United States in a vote presided over by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
The bill would allow Puerto Rico to vote on whether to remain a freely associated territory, declare sovereignty, or become the country’s 51st state. But with a need-to-pass funding bill sucking up every available moment in the Senate, the likelihood of the legislation receiving a vote in the upper chamber before the end of the session is slim. It passed the House on Thursday in a 233-191 vote, with 16 Republicans joining Democrats.
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Ocasio-Cortez, whose mother was born and raised in Puerto Rico, played a role in drafting the bill, which would have Puerto Ricans first elect delegates for a status convention who would come up with a plan for the territory, followed by a popular referendum for the people to decide on their recommendations.
“Today, for the first time in our nation’s history, the U.S. will recognize its role as a colonizing force,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her opening statement.
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Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and send a nonvoting delegate to Congress. The island is an unincorporated territory. Puerto Rico Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Republican, said Wednesday that “124 years of colonialism is too much,” though her fellow Republicans have criticized prioritizing the bill in the busy last stretch of the legislative session, and it will likely be dead on arrival in the Senate.
