Congressional Record/Volume 167/Issue 4/Extensions of Remarks/Adopting the Rules of the House
ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 117TH CONGRESS
SPEECH OF
HON. JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN
OF PUERTO RICO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, January 4, 2021
Miss González-Colón. Madam Speaker, I express my opposition to the proposed House Rules governing the 117th Congress.
As the Congresswoman for Puerto Rico, I represent 3.2 million Puerto Ricans, American citizens by birth since 1917. Yet as such I have no vote on passage of measures.
While House Resolution 8 will continue to provide the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner a vote in the Committee of the Whole, the vote will only count if the votes cast are not deciding votes.
If Delegates or the Resident Commissioner, while in the Committee of the Whole, cast deciding votes, the measure will receive a revote without any delegate or Resident Commissioner casting a vote during the second vote.
This is just a reflection of a continued injustice and a step that does little or nothing to address it.
More than a symbolic expression, my constituents need equal standing.
This past November, Puerto Ricans exercised their choice by casting 623,053 votes for statehood, capturing 52-percent of the total vote. This referendum was a straight yes-no question as to the ultimate will of the Puerto Rican voters.
Puerto Rico demands equality. My constituents voted for equal voting representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate, which can only be achieved through statehood.
Puerto Rico would have at least four U.S. Representatives in the House and the Constitutionally mandated two Senators when it becomes a state. This would give the island six electoral votes during a Presidential election cycle.
And still, there are those who still try to subvert the will of the voters who actually live in the island.
All the crises that Puerto Rico has suffered during the past four years, including hurricanes, earthquakes, the coronavirus pandemic, and the fiscal crisis, demonstrate the urgency of achieving equality with the states.
That is why statehood cannot wait any longer. The island must receive the same treatment that is received in the rest of the nation. There is strength in the Union, particularly in moments of collective crisis.
The territorial status is also primarily responsible for the island’s economic underdevelopment and decline.
According to the Census there are 5.4 million Puerto Ricans living in the rest of the United States as opposed to 3.26 million living on the island—a difference of 2.1 million people, driven by the lack of opportunity.
It’s a pleasure to serve in this House, the most diverse in its history. However, we are failing to address the pressing issue of Puerto Rico’s need for real, not symbolic votes in Congress.
The island deserves equality, and my constituents deserve representation.