The House passed legislation on Thursday that would give Puerto Rico the opportunity to redefine its status as a U.S. territory.
The legislation, which secured bipartisan support, would allow Puerto Ricans to vote for one of three avenues: independence, statehood, or sovereignty in free association with the U.S. Countries like Micronesia fall into the third category, making them independent but bound to certain diplomatic and defense agreements with the U.S.
A Puerto Rico statehood bill and self-determination bill, both spearheaded by Democrats, were merged to create the Puerto Rico Status Act. Representative Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Republican nonvoting member of Congress representing Puerto Rico, was involved in its development. If enacted, the law would generate a binding referendum for Puerto Rican voters to choose their status in November 2023.
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation next, with a deadline to do so before an upcoming recess in late December. In the evenly-split Senate, ten Republicans would be needed to get the bill over the 60-vote filibuster hurdle. The Democratic-dominated Congress expires Friday, with the party relinquishing majority power to the Republicans next session.
While 232 Democrats approved the measure, only 191 Republicans signed onto it. GOP members who opposed it argued it was being rushed without debate and expressed skepticism about statehood, which could be mainly politically advantageous for Democrats if the island earns full congressional representation. Puerto Rico’s admission as a state would likely add more Democrats to both chambers. Last year, the Democratic-controlled House advanced a bill to grant statehood to heavily-progressive Washington, D.C., but the bill failed to move past the Senate.
“At this point in time I’m not, you know, interested in going down that road,” Roy told Business Insider. “We didn’t have a debate about it, I haven’t been a part of any of the debates on this. They’re trying to jam this through right before Christmas.”
Democrats championed the effort as a step toward the “decolonization” of the island. Other Republicans said the bill didn’t address taxation, access to federal programs, and participation in federal government.