,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #haac  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #be1 #bjbj   
,ms4 ,velzquez 7for herself and ,ms4    
,ocasio-,cortez7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,natural ,resources   
,a ,,bill  ,to recognize the right of   
the ,people of ,puerto ,rico to call a  
status convention through which the     
people would exercise their natural     
right to self-determination1 and to     
establish a mechanism for congressional 
consideration of such decision1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,puerto ,rico  
,self-,determination ,act of #bjbj4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3  
7#a7 ,in #ahih1 the ,united ,states     
defeated the ,spanish ,kingdom in the   
,spanish-,american ,war and acquired by 
conquest ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 and the  
,philippines pursuant to the ,treaty of 
,paris4  7#b7 ,in #aijj1 ,congress      
established a civilian government on the

 island through the ,foraker ,act4      
,among other points1 that ,act          
established an executive council        
consisting of various department heads  
and a presidentially appointed civilian 
governor4  7#c7 ,the ,foraker ,act also 
established the ,resident ,commissioner 
position to represent island interests  
in ,congress4 ,these duties came to     
include nonvoting service in the ,house 
of ,representatives4  7#d7 ,in #aija1   
the ,supreme ,court's decisions in      
,downes v4 ,bidwell and its progeny held
 that for purposes of the               
,constitution's ,uniformity ,clause1    
,puerto ,rico was not part of the       
,united ,states4 ,justice ,white1 in    
concurrence1 opined that ,congress has  
discretion to decide whether and when to
 incorporate a territory into the       
,united ,states4  7#e7 ,congress        
recognized ,puerto ,rico's authority    
over matters of internal governance in  
#aiej with the passage of the ,puerto   
,rico ,federal ,relations ,act of #aiej1

 ,public ,law #ha-fjj1 providing for a  
constitutional government for the island
 which was adopted by ,congress as a    
compact for the people of ,puerto ,rico 
and the subsequent ratification of the  
island's constitution in ,july #aieb4   
7#f7 ,on ,november #ah1 #aiec1 the      
,united ,nations recognized ,puerto     
,rico as a self-governing political     
entity under the ,united ,nations       
,general ,assembly ,resolution #gdh4    
7#g7 ,the ,united ,states has a legal   
duty to comply with ,article #a of the  
,international ,covenant on ,civil and  
,political ,rights1 which establishes   
that all peoples have the right to      
self-determination and by virtue of that
 right they freely determine their      
political status and freely pursue their
 economic1 social and cultural          
development4  7#h7 ,the status          
convention provides a deliberative1     
comprehensive1 and uninterrupted space  
of dialogue that can define the future  
of ,puerto ,rico4  #c4 ,puerto ,rico    

status convention  7a7 ,in general ,the 
,legislature of ,puerto ,rico has the   
inherent authority to call a status     
convention1 constituted by a number of  
delegates to be determined in accordance
 to legislation approved by the         
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 for the 
purpose of proposing to the people of   
,puerto ,rico a self-determination      
option4 ,a status convention called by  
the ,legislature shall-- 7#a7 be a      
semipermanent body that is dissolved    
only when the ,united ,states ratifies a
 self-determination option presented to 
,congress by the status convention2 and 
7#b7 consist of delegates elected by    
,puerto ,rican votes1 in an election    
conducted according to the enabling     
legislation for this status convention  
as approved by the ,legislature of the  
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico4  7b7    
,public financing of delegate elections 
7#a7 ,fund established ,there is hereby 
established a separate fund in the      
,united ,states ,treasury to be known as

 the ,puerto ,rico ,status ,convention  
,public ,matching ,fund which shall be  
administered by the ,puerto ,rico ,state
 ,commission on ,elections and subject  
to oversight by the ,federal ,election  
,commission4 ,amounts in the fund shall 
be used to distribute #d to each        
candidate for delegate for every #a that
 the candidate receives as a campaign   
contribution that is--  7,a7 less than  
#ajj2 and  7,b7 donated by a resident of
 ,puerto ,rico4  7#b7 ,requirements for 
a matching fund ,to be eligible to      
receive funds under this subsection1 a  
candidate for delegate shall-- 7,a7     
agree to increased financial oversight  
from the ,federal ,election ,commission2
  7,b7 limit campaign spending to not   
more than #be1jjj2 and  7,c7 demonstrate
 a basic level of support from residents
 of ,puerto ,rico by receiving from     
residents of ,puerto ,rico not less than
 #ej individual donations of #ej or     
less4  7#c7 ,authorization of           
appropriations ,there is authorized to  

be appropriated to carry out this       
section #e1ejj1jjj4 ,administrative     
costs for the ,federal ,election        
,commission shall not exceed #aj percent
 of this appropriation4  7c7 ,delegates 
,delegates elected pursuant to          
subsection 7a77#b71 in consultation with
 the ,congressional ,bilateral          
,negotiating ,commission1 shall--  7#a7 
debate and draft definitions on         
self-determination options for ,puerto  
,rico1 which shall be outside the       
,territorial ,clause of the ,united     
,states ,constitution2  7#b7 draft      
accompanying transition plans for each  
self-determination option2 and  7#c7    
choose a self-determination option 7and 
its accompanying transition plan7 to    
present to the people of ,puerto ,rico  
through a referendum vote held in       
,puerto ,rico4  #d4 ,congressional      
,bilateral ,negotiating ,commission  7a7
 ,establishment ,there is established a 
,congressional ,bilateral ,negotiating  
,commission to provide advice and       

consultation to delegates of a status   
convention called under section #c4  7b7
 ,composition ,the members of the       
,commission shall include-- 7#a7 the    
chairs of the ,committee on ,natural    
,resources of the ,house of             
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,energy and ,natural ,resources of the  
,senate2  7#b7 the ranking members of   
the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of
 the ,house of ,representatives and the 
,committee on ,energy and ,natural      
,resources of the ,senate2  7#c7 one    
member selected by the majority leader  
of the ,house of ,representatives2  7#d7
 one member selected by the minority    
leader of the ,house of                 
,representatives2  7#e7 one member      
selected by the majority leader of the  
,senate2  7#f7 one member selected by   
the minority leader of the ,senate2     
7#g7 the ,resident ,commissioner of     
,puerto ,rico2 and  7#h7 with the       
consent of the ,speaker of the ,house of
 ,representatives and majority leader of

 the ,senate1 a member from the         
,department of ,justice4  7c7 ,duties   
and functions ,the ,commission--  7#a7  
shall meet periodically with the        
delegates in ,puerto ,rico and the      
,district of ,columbia1 at the request  
of the elected delegates2  7#b7 shall   
have the authority to study1 make       
findings1 and develop recommendations   
regarding the different                 
self-determination options on           
constitutional issues and policies      
related to culture1 language1 the       
judicial and public education systems1  
taxes1 and ,united ,states citizenship1 
and provide technical assistance and    
constitutional advice to the delegates  
throughout the duration of the ,puerto  
,rico status convention2  7#c7 may hold 
public hearings in connection with any  
aspects of the convention at the request
 of the delegates or on its own2 and    
7#d7 may receive testimony4  7d7        
,reporting ,the ,commission shall       
periodically provide status reports1    

findings1 and studies to the ,speaker of
 the ,house of ,representatives4 ,all   
such reports shall be-- 7#a7 submitted  
to the ,house of ,representatives not   
less than once every #ab months2 and    
7#b7 made available to the general      
public in widely accessible formats in  
,english and ,spanish on the same day   
that such reports are submitted to the  
,house of ,representatives4  #e4 ,puerto
 ,rico status referendum  7a7 ,in       
general ,a referendum vote by residents 
of ,puerto ,rico may only be on the     
self-determination option chosen by the 
delegates of the status convention4  7b7
 ,authorization of appropriations ,there
 is authorized to be appropriated       
#b1ejj1jjj to carry out a referendum    
vote under subsection 7a74  #f4         
,congressional deliberation and enacting
 resolution ,if the referendum is       
approved by the people of ,puerto ,rico1
 ,congress may approve a joint          
resolution to ratify the                
self-determination option approved in   

the referendum vote held under this     
,act4 ,if the ,congress ends before     
acting on the self-determination option1
 the ,puerto ,rico status convention    
created under this ,act may meet again  
and send or resend a self-determination 
option to ,congress4