Puerto Rico independence vote bill passes U.S. House - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's question for greater self-government got a boost connected Thursday successful the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed a measure for a referendum connected 3 imaginable futures though the measurement had small accidental of being taken up by the Senate.

The Puerto Rico Status Act outlines presumption for a binding referendum connected the 3 options: afloat independence, U.S. statehood oregon sovereignty with ceremonial U.S. association, akin to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva, the bill's archetypal sponsor, said that whether the measurement gets a ballot successful the Senate oregon not, it volition inactive acceptable "an important humanities precedent" for Puerto Rico.

The authorities "tells the radical successful Puerto Rico, our chap U.S. citizens, that this predetermination is going to beryllium aboveboard and the consequences are going to beryllium aboveboard," Grijalva told a House committee proceeding connected Wednesday night.

The measurement passed successful the Democratic-controlled House successful a 233-219 ballot mostly on enactment lines.

Republicans argued against the measure due to the fact that it did not connection the enactment of maintaining the presumption quo and said it was a distraction arsenic a U.S. national authorities shutdown looms connected Friday nighttime unless lawmakers o.k. a backing measure.

The Caribbean land is presently a U.S. territory, whose residents are U.S. citizens but bash not person voting practice successful Congress and cannot ballot successful statesmanlike elections.

With astir a week to spell earlier Congress takes a vacation break, senators are scrambling to walk 2 large bills backing the subject and the authorities much broadly.

Unless the Senate acts connected the Puerto Rico measure this month, which is improbable, the authorities volition expire. Republicans, who volition power the House successful the caller Congress adjacent year, are improbable to reintroduce it.

Puerto Rico, which has astir 3.3 cardinal radical and precocious rates of poverty, became a U.S. territory successful 1898. Activists person campaigned for greater self-determination including statehood for decades.

There person been six referendums connected the taxable since the 1960s, but they were non-binding. Only Congress tin assistance statehood.

Reporting by Moira Warburton successful Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman

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