Puerto Rican Lawmakers Introduce New Status Bill [View All]

[newyorican]

Full Title:Puerto Rican Lawmakers Introduce New Bill on Resolving Island's Status

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Lawmakers who favor keeping Puerto Rico's status as a U.S. commonwealth submitted a bill Tuesday detailing a plan for resolving the island's relationship with the United States. The Popular Democratic Party submitted the bill a week after Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila vetoed similar legislation introduced by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.

Both bills provide for a referendum in which islanders would vote for or against a petition calling on the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush to honor the results of another referendum on the U.S. Caribbean territory's status.

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Voters supporting statehood were defeated by a slim margin in previous nonbinding referendums in 1993 and 1998. Less than 5 percent voted for independence. The result has kept Puerto Rico's commonwealth intact - a situation that has been unchanged since 1952.

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The United States seized Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898. It's nearly 4 million people have been U.S. citizens since 1917. Islanders can serve in the U.S. military but are barred from voting for president, have no voting representation in U.S. Congress and pay no federal income taxes.

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