ICYMI: Sen. Menendez Makes Case for Puerto Rican Self-Determination

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the highest ranking Latino in Congress, published an op-ed in El Nuevo Día yesterday, titled Let the People of Puerto Rico Decide Their Own Future, where he makes the case for passing the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, a bill he is leading alongside his House colleagues Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Unlike past and current proposals, this bill does not favor one status option over another; instead, it gives supporters of statehood, independence, and other options a seat at the decision-making table. It ultimately creates a transparent, inclusive, and democratic process for the people of Puerto Rico to decide their own political future.

Read the op-ed in its entirety below:

For over a century, the United States has relied on Supreme Court interpretations of our Constitution’s Territorial Clause – known as the Insular Cases – to perpetuate the unjust, exclusionary, and appalling treatment of the people of Puerto Rico. It is time for change.

Decade after decade, our government has largely ignored the question of Puerto Rico’s political status, and the resulting ambiguity has fueled systemic inequities in the treatment of millions of American citizens who call Puerto Rico home. Only recently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, were our television screens filled with images conveying how this uncertainty exacerbated Puerto Rico’s economic woes and hindered its recovery efforts. This same lack of autonomy also hinders Puerto Rico’s efforts to protect residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and is sure to hamper its ability to address future public health and economic crises. Perhaps most recognizably, these inequities and decades of neglect have accelerated migration from the island.

These injustices are unsustainable. We can and must do better. To leave Puerto Ricans in permanent political limbo betrays our values as a country and our commitment to democratic self-government. In the face of this pervasive injustice, we can no longer afford to ignore the need for Puerto Rican self-determination. It is time for the U.S. government to empower the people of Puerto Rico to decide their own future by creating a legitimate, inclusive, and democratic process for addressing the question of Puerto Rico’s political status.

Over the years, members of Congress have tried to pass legislation attempting to address this issue; however, they have fallen short – until now. With the introduction of the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, sponsored by myself in the Senate along with my colleagues Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House of Representatives, we have put forward a comprehensive, transparent, and democratic process for the people of Puerto Rico to determine their own future.

This bill is our best path forward, and here’s why. As the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I consistently remind my colleagues about our responsibility to be good stewards of democracy, working to defend our country as a beacon of freedom and promoting democratic and fair governance and electoral processes across the globe. That set of guiding principles should be the same for the United States, including Puerto Rico.

Unlike past efforts, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act does not favor one status option over another; instead, it gives supporters of statehood, independence, and other options a seat at the decision-making table. Our legislation creates a democratic process that begins with the election of delegates to a Status Convention. These delegates will then engage in a bilateral Congressional Commission that charts the path forward for each of the available status options before putting them before the people of Puerto Rico to vote in a federally recognized referendum for the very first time ever. The U.S. Congress would then proceed to recognize the results of that referendum through a joint resolution that respects the voices of the people of Puerto Rico and their right to self-determination.

The idea of an assembly of elected delegates to determine the island’s status is not new. For years, numerous Puerto Rican political and civic leaders, advocacy groups and legal entities have consistently supported such a mechanism for addressing Puerto Rico’s political future – and now more than 80 of my colleagues, from both sides of the aisle and in both chambers of Congress, stand firmly with me in support of Puerto Rican self-determination. The United States has a unique opportunity to address the systemic inequities resulting from its more than 100-year long colonial stranglehold over Puerto Rico. I am committed to using the strength of my voice and power of my office to fight for the millions of Americans who call Puerto Rico home and deserve to forge their own political destiny.