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IT is extremely rare for the Speaker of the House to actively co-sponsor legislation. Yet Speaker Gingrich, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, and 23 other Republican members have signed on to HR-856, which would begin the process to make Puerto Rico our 51st state. Introduced by Rep. Don Young (R., Ark.), the bill would require the island to hold a referendum in 1998 with three options: continued commonwealth, statehood, or independence. The referendum would also be held at least once every ten years until either statehood or independence received a majority vote.

That’s a bare majority-whereas Alaska became a state with the support of 83 per cent of its population; Hawaii, with 94 per cent. Over the years, Puerto Rico has had two referenda on the status question. In 1967 commonwealth status won with a large margin. The second referendum, in 1993, resulted in a vote that was 48.6 per cent for continued commonwealth, 46.3 per cent for statehood, and 4.4 per cent for independence. Since the last two options are the only permanent choices, there is little doubt regarding the eventual result. Once the statehood option succeeds, Congress would be required to vote on statehood every two years until it was approved.

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Jorge Amselle

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IT is extremely rare for the Speaker of the House to actively co-sponsor legislation. Yet Speaker Gingrich, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, and 23 other Republican members have signed on to HR-856, which would begin the process to make Puerto Rico our 51st state. Introduced by Rep. Don Young (R., Ark.), the bill would require the island to hold a referendum in 1998 with three options: continued commonwealth, statehood, or independence. The referendum would also be held at least once every ten years until either statehood or independence received a majority vote.

That’s a bare majority-whereas Alaska became a state with the support of 83 per cent of its population; Hawaii, with 94 per cent. Over the years, Puerto Rico has had two referenda on the status question. In 1967 commonwealth status won with a large margin. The second referendum, in 1993, resulted in a vote that was 48.6 per cent for continued commonwealth, 46.3 per cent for statehood, and 4.4 per cent for independence. Since the last two options are the only permanent choices, there is little doubt regarding the eventual result. Once the statehood option succeeds, Congress would be required to vote on statehood every two years until it was approved.