Written Testimony to the Committee on Natural Resources of the U.S. Senate regarding H.R. 2499, presented by Mr. Luis Raúl Torres-Cruz,

Mr. Carlos Hernández-López, Mr. Luis Vega-Ramos and Ms. Carmen Yulín Cruz-Soto, members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

May 19, 2010

The undersigned are elected members of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.  As such, we wish to express today to this Honorable Committee that H.R. 2499, the so-called Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2010, as approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, constitutes a flawed vehicle that will not only fail to allow Puerto Rico to properly exercise its right of self-determination, but will also, in a most undemocratic way, skew the process in favor of a victory for a Statehood option. We also wish to express our understanding that a much better way for Congress to support a democratic exercise of the right of self-determination would be by supporting the convening of a Constitutional Assembly in Puerto Rico, and establishing a formal process of negotiation with the People of Puerto Rico to implement the results of said Constitutional Assembly.

We believe that a valid process of self-determination for Puerto Rico must comply with applicable U.N. Decolonization Committee resolutions, which are based on recognized international law principles.  As such, it is essential that any valid process originates from Puerto Rico, not from the United States, and that it engages the Congress and the Administration in an effective response mechanism to the expressed will of the people.

H.R. 2499 would federalize our electoral process, which under US Supreme Court decisions is unconstitutional, as it is also contrary to the very nature of self-determination according to International Law.  In addition, H.R. 2499 would create a two-vote process in which the first vote would be an unnecessary waste of valuable resources.  Under the first vote, the people of Puerto Rico would be asked to choose between undefined change and the current state of relations between Puerto Rico and the United States.  It should be noted that no one in Puerto Rico, not even our own Popular Democratic Party (“PDP”), which is the historical defender of the Commonwealth status, advocates for a continuation of Commonwealth as we know it today.  In fact, in 1998, given the choice of supporting today’s territorial Commonwealth in a status referendum, the PDP chose instead to support the “None of the Above” alternative.  Subsequently, the PDP has repeatedly stated its support for changes to the current Commonwealth arrangement.  Thus, the first vote included in H.R. 2499 is unnecessary, a  waste of valuable and scarce resources, and offensive to the idea of a proper self-determination procedure.

The second vote to be held under the terms of H.R. 2499 is equally problematic.  As originally drafted, the second vote did not contain an alternative that would adjust to the expressed aspirations of the more than 800,000 supporters of the PDP, one of the two main political parties in Puerto Rico.  Not having an alternative to support, PDP voters would be left disenfranchised and without any motivation to participate in the process.  These would result in an artificial victory for the Statehood option, generally the “runner up” in Puerto Rico’s political preferences.  The addition of a “status quo” amendment in the House of Representatives did not in any way cure that fatal flaw.  Now, instead of having three alternatives that do not adjust to the expressed wishes of the members of the PDP, H.R. 2499 contains four alternatives that do not so adjust.  The only way to avoid the disenfranchisement of PDP supporters would be to define an alternative in a way that adjusts to the text of the PDP platform, which reads as follows:

“Sovereignty means that a nation’s ultimate power over its affairs resides with its people, its countrymen. The undertaking of the issue of Puerto Rico’s political status should begin with the recognition that sovereignty rests with the people of Puerto Rico. The concept of “Estado Libre Asociado Soberano” (Sovereign Commonwealth or Free Associated State) seeks that Puerto Rico and the government of the United States agrees to specific terms that define the relationship between them, with U.S. citizenship as a bonding element of the political association. That effort will establish the extent of the jurisdictional powers that the People of Puerto Rico authorize to have in the hands of the United States.”

Without an option that adjusts to the above-cited language, H.R. 2499 would leave the members of the PDP without a choice on the second vote, undemocratically creating an artificial victory for an alternative (Statehood) that has never had the support of the majority of Puerto Ricans.

We also concur with those, like the Congressional Research Service (CRS), who express concern as to the confusing nature of the so-called “sovereignty in association” option.  When a serious process of self-determination is entertained by this Senate, the middle ground option between Statehood and Independence should be clearly outside the Territorial Clause and as close as possible to the previous models of association already adopted by the United States with three Pacific nations.  In that sense, H.R. 2499 fails to properly consider the alternative of Free Association as suggested by Chairman Bingaman to the Puerto Rican media on November of 2006.

Instead of the flawed process suggested in H.R. 2499, we propose that a special Constitutional Assembly for self-determination be convened by the People of Puerto Rico, in accordance to our laws, institutions and our inalienable rights.  This special Constitutional Assembly shall be the vehicle of expression which allows the articulation of non-territorial alternatives, based on the sovereignty of the People of Puerto Rico and not bound by the straitjacket of the territorial clause and its plenary powers.  This proposal is consistent with the PDP platform; in fact, we have filed a Bill in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, drafted by a multi-party special committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association (that would provide for the convening and operation of such a Constitutional Assembly).  Instead of wasting time and resources with flawed processes as H.R. 2499, Congress could also enact legislation that acknowledges the inalienable right of Puerto Rico to convene such a convention and that establishes a formal process to negotiate in accordance to what the People of Puerto Rico express as a result of that Constitutional Assembly. (1)

Finally, we denounce the effects of an English language amendment included in the approved version of H.R. 2499.  Said amendment mandates our Election’s Commission to instruct voters that if Puerto Rico retains its current commonwealth status, “it is the sense of Congress that the teaching of English to be promoted in Puerto Rico as the language of opportunity and empowerment in the United States in order to enable students in public schools to achieve English language proficiency”.  Said amendment is another attack on the culture and distinct identity of Puerto Rico, and by itself is enough reason to defeat H.R. 2499. 

We urge you to defeat H.R. 2499 for the various reasons that have been explained on this written statement.  Furthermore, we urge you to work with the people of Puerto to truly fashion a self-determination process that respects our natural right to determine our ultimate political status

Sincerely,

Luis Raúl Torres-Cruz                                               Carlos Hernández-López

Member                                                                     Member

Puerto Rico House of Representatives                      Puerto Rico House of Representatives

Minority Whip                                                           Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee

Luis Vega-Ramos                                                      Carmen Yulín Cruz-Soto

Member                                                                     Member

Puerto Rico House of Representatives                      Puerto Rico House of Representatives         

Ranking Member, Ways and Means Committee        Ranking Member, Women’s Affairs Committee