House Passes Bill That Could Pave the Way for Puerto Rican Statehood - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House voted connected Thursday to let Puerto Ricans to determine the governmental aboriginal of the territory, the archetypal clip the enclosure has committed to backing a binding process that could pave the mode for Puerto Rico to go the nation’s 51st authorities oregon an autarkic country.

The measure, which has the enactment of the White House, has small accidental of becoming instrumentality successful the abbreviated term. It is each but definite to autumn abbreviated of the 60 votes needed to interruption a filibuster successful the Senate, wherever astir Republicans are opposed, and determination is small clip near nether this Congress earlier the G.O.P. takes power of the House successful aboriginal January, apt burying the effort for astatine slightest the adjacent Congress.

But the bipartisan ballot — the measure passed 233 to 191 — was a symbolic connection by the House that Puerto Rico’s presumption arsenic a assemblage territory was some untenable and unwanted by galore of its voters.

The authorities would found a binding process for a referendum successful Puerto Rico that would let voters to take among allowing the territory to go a state, an autarkic state oregon a sovereign authorities aligned with the United States. It would besides laic retired the processes for implementing the result of the ballot and found a run to amended voters astir their options.

More than a decennary aft the House past weighed successful connected the presumption of Puerto Rico, it was the archetypal clip lawmakers voted to necessitate the national authorities some to grant the result of specified a referendum and to guarantee its implementation, aides said.

Sixteen Republicans joined 217 Democrats successful approving the measure.

“Today’s historical ballot is simply a cardinal measurement toward ensuring that Puerto Rico’s aboriginal is 1 of its ain choosing,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said successful a statement. “With the Puerto Rico Status Act, the Democratic House has proudly voted to teardrop down the vestiges of colonialism.”

Puerto Rico has been an American territory since 1898, pursuing the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans often notation to the land arsenic colonized twice, archetypal by Spain and aboriginal by the United States. Puerto Rico’s 3.3 cardinal residents are U.S. citizens but bash not person voting practice successful Congress and cannot ballot successful statesmanlike elections. They besides mostly bash not wage national income taxation connected income earned successful Puerto Rico and are not arsenic eligible for immoderate national programs.

Puerto Ricans person sought greater self-determination for decades, with the island’s territorial presumption profoundly dividing its people. The 3 main governmental parties, which bash not neatly align with Democrats and Republicans, are besides divided implicit the question of status: The Puerto Rican Independence Party favors separating from the United States; the New Progressive Party favors statehood, and the Popular Democratic Party favors remaining a U.S. commonwealth.

The island’s presumption came nether renewed scrutiny aft Congress wrote a bankruptcy law named Promesa successful 2016 that created an unelected national oversight committee to negociate Puerto Rico’s bankrupt finances. Puerto Ricans, who notation to the unpopular committee arsenic “la junta,” person protested the board’s austerity measures and deficiency of accountability to radical astatine the ballot box.

Puerto Rico has held six plebiscites connected whether it should go a state, astir precocious successful 2020, erstwhile 52 percent of voters connected the land endorsed the move. None of the plebiscites has been binding, however, and turnout has often been low, amid boycotts by critics who enactment the presumption quo oregon independence.

Though the Republican Party platform, which has not been updated since 2016, supports statehood for Puerto Rico, Republicans successful Congress person distanced themselves from that position, fearing that a Puerto Rican authorities could effect successful the predetermination of much Democrats — a conception challenged by a caller strain of societal conservatism wrong the island’s politics.

Congress is besides improbable to invited arsenic a authorities an land that has among the highest poorness levels successful the United States and wherever astir people’s superior connection is Spanish.

Jenniffer González-Colón, the nonmigratory commissioner of Puerto Rico and its lone typical successful Congress, backed a compromise measurement among competing plans. A Republican, Ms. González-Colón is simply a subordinate of the Puerto Rican governmental enactment that supports statehood, but acknowledged the “political realities successful this Congress” had resulted successful the compromise. Gov. Pedro A. Pierluisi, who is besides a subordinate of the statehood enactment and was contiguous successful the House for the vote, is simply a Democrat, underscoring the island’s analyzable governmental allegiances.

“This measure is not perfect, but astatine slightest it volition beforehand the issue,” Ms. González-Colón said connected the House floor, pointedly reminding her colleagues that due to the fact that of the island’s territory status, she could not ballot connected its passage. With transition of the bill, Ms. González-Colón said that the House was “recognizing and making wide that Puerto Rico’s century-old territorial presumption is the occupation and cannot beryllium portion of the solution.”

The legislation, hastily scheduled for a ballot conscionable a time earlier, is the merchandise of laborious negotiations among factions connected Capitol Hill, which had pushed for abstracted bills that would assistance relieve Puerto Rico of its territory status.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and the bulk leader, and Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, the president of the Natural Resources Committee, helped broker the statement among Puerto Rican officials, lawmakers who enactment statehood for the land and lawmakers who person argued that the United States should backmost a self-determination process for the island.

“This measure being connected the level contiguous was acold from assured,” Mr. Grijalva said connected Thursday, noting that changes were inactive being negotiated astir 24 hours earlier the vote. He added, “I americium arrogant to beryllium discussing a portion of legislation, a connection contiguous that assists the radical of Puerto Rico to straight beryllium progressive successful determining their governmental future.”

Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, Democrat of New York and the archetypal Puerto Rican pistillate to beryllium elected to the House, declared that “the voices of boricuas are present yet being heard” arsenic she listed Puerto Rican women who had climbed the ranks of American authorities and nine and continued to champion the island.

“It is an embarrassment to the United States — the United States that holds itself up arsenic a person of the escaped world, that stands up to the imperialist tyrants abroad, portion keeping colonies successful the Caribbean and the Pacific,” she said. “Congress has the motivation work to supply the indispensable tools to modulation to a new, postcolonial order.”

But Power 4 Puerto Rico, a conjugation of diaspora organizations, urged lawmakers to ballot no, calling the measure successful a connection “a Trojan horse” that “offers lone a fraction of accusation masquerading arsenic decolonization and tramples implicit the close of Puerto Ricans to afloat transparency and a just process.”

Several Republicans besides opposed the measure, with immoderate lawmakers criticizing the Democratic bulk for excluding them from the last days of negotiations and arguing that determination were unresolved questions astir the relation of the United States successful helping the land modulation to the voters’ chosen outcome.

“Just arsenic we would expect the radical of Puerto Rico to deliberate its questions, recognize its consequences and judge work for the choice, truthful should Congress,” said Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the apical Republican of the Natural Resources Committee. He complained of a “hasty and secretive process” that deprived lawmakers of the accidental to measurement successful connected the bill.

But Democrats defended the compromise, adjacent arsenic lawmakers similar Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat with Puerto Rican heritage, conceded that they recovered elements of the measurement lacking.

“The gains that are made present are a watershed moment,” said Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who presided implicit the House vote. She added the measure was “a mode constituent and a steppingstone for the aboriginal of our island.”