White House: It’s “Clear” That Puerto Rico Wants to Resolve Its Political Status

Nov 30, 2012
4:37 PM

Originally Published in JulioRVarela.com

In response to a November 6 plebiscite vote in Puerto Rico, where 54% of voters rejected the island's current status quo and 61% chose statehood as its preferred option, the White House today said that Puerto Rico has "made it clear" that it wants to resolve its political status, according to a report in El Nuevo Día.

As the newspaper reports in Spanish, David Agnew and Tony West, co-chairs for The President’s Task Force of Puerto Rico’s Status, stated that the Obama Administration "will work with Congress to provide the people of Puerto Rico a clear process that would establish ways that Puerto Ricans could determine their status. [Note: this quote and others were translated from the END report in Spanish. They do not reflect the official English version of the statement. END received an advanced copy of the statement.]

Agnew and West also stated the following:

“This Administration is committed to the principle that political status is a topic of self-determination for the people of Puerto Rico."

"Besides the status question, the Task Force will continue to work with Congress, the people of Puerto Rico and its leaders to address the concerns of the (close to) four million American citizens who call Puerto Rico home, implementing the recommendations of the 2011 report to promote the creation of jobs, improve security, education and address other important education, health and clean energy goals.”

In the meantime,