On Thursday the House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, which received a floor vote after its approval by a House committee on Wednesday. Now, the race is on to get approval from the Senate before a new Republican-controlled House is sworn in on January 3.

The Puerto Rico Status Act is “the product of an our-way-or-the-highway approach from pro-statehood House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that has backed advocates of a fair and just decolonization process for Puerto Rico into a corner,” the two groups said in a joint statement.

The legislative clock is running out on the Puerto Rico Status Act, and according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), votes have yet to be counted due to what he says are “outside interests” delaying progress on the bill.

Rep. Grijalva, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, says the sudden increase in lobbying against the Puerto Rico Status Act is not about process but instead about maintaining the island’s current colonial status.

After the Natural Resources Committee passed the Puerto Rico Status Act on Wednesday, all eyes are now on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, whose support or defection from the bill she helped negotiate will likely decide the bill’s fate in the House.

Twenty-nine amendments were debated by members of the House Natural Resources Committee who ultimately voted 20-25 to advance the bill, with every Republican voting against the bill except Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colón.

On Friday, Natural Resources Committee chair Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced a bill that outlines a process for the people of Puerto Rico to decide their political status in a binding resolution that would force Congress to carry out their decision.

On Tuesday afternoon, Latino Rebels caught up with the House Committee on Natural Resources Chair in the Speaker’s Lobby of the House of Representatives for an update on the bill that has brought the two policy factions supporting statehood and self-determination bills together for the first time.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A discussion is brewing in the House of Representatives over whether or not the new Puerto Rico Status Discussion Draft will be translated into Spanish.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) traveled to Puerto Rico with three fellow House members to hold a public forum to discuss the new Puerto Rico Status Act Discussion Draft, Latino Rebels caught up with the New York Democrat on Wednesday evening for an update on the bill.

As anticipated, there was no overarching agreement over the future of the political status of Puerto Rico—although the predominantly shared sentiment from speakers was that the discussion draft was a good start to relinquishing themselves of colonialism.

Over the weekend, Latino Rebels received testimonies from three speakers, each representing a different take on the status question and the discussion draft bill. We are sharing each testimony here to show the broad political spectrum this discussion draft debate represents.

Even if the Puerto Rico Status Act passes the House —which is far from certain— it would still need to pass the Senate, where 60 votes are required to break a filibuster. If it doesn’t pass Congress, then there will be no binding plebiscite, currently scheduled for November 5, 2023.

The Puerto Rico Status Act brings together two competing bills in the House: the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act and the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s in it.

Following a press conference on Thursday, members of the House negotiating team behind a potential consensus bill on Puerto Rico’s status released what is likely a messaging bill meant to act as a framework for further negotiations and their outcome.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González Colón, tell Latino Rebels that, despite their opposing perspectives on Puerto Rico’s status question, there are at least two areas of common ground driving the negotiations on a consensus bill.

In a surprising display of bipartisanship, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) issued a joint statement on Thursday concerning the ongoing debate in the House of Representatives on Puerto Rico’s political status. My statement with @RepJenniffer below. pic.twitter.com/rmmtFEzJcZ — Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) April 28, 2022 “We both […]

A single staffer in House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) office has been tasked with the seemingly impossible job of combining an all-or-nothing proposition for statehood with an open-ended process for self-determination.

“I thank the Department of Justice for submitting its assessments of both bills,” the Arizona Democrat said on Monday.

Free Association is the only road available for Puerto Rico at this moment to foster its prosperity while establishing a non-territorial relationship with the United States. It is also the only status option capable of accommodating the main concerns expressed by the advocates of the three traditional status options.

Last week Thursday, a coalition of Puerto Ricans living in the diaspora sent a letter to Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, urging him and other House members for transparency in their proceedings on a draft bill to resolve Puerto Rico’s status.