,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aaac  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,september #ae1 
#bjbj,mr4 ,soto 7for himself1 ,miss     
,gonzlez-,coln of ,puerto ,rico1 ,mr4   
,hastings1 ,mrs4 ,demings1 ,mr4 ,crist1 
,mr4 ,deutch1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 ,mr4       
,fitzpatrick1 ,mr4 ,young1 ,mrs4        
,radewagen1 ,ms4 ,shalala1 ,mrs4 ,murphy
 of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz1 
,ms4 ,frankel1 ,mr4 ,lawson of ,florida1
 ,ms4 ,mucarsel-,powell1 ,ms4 ,wilson of
 ,florida1 and ,ms4 ,castor of ,florida7
 submitted the following resolution2    
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,natural ,resources  ,,resolution  ,to  
state the need for action on statehood  
for ,puerto ,rico if the status wins a  
majority of the vote on the question in 
the territory's plebiscite on ,november 
#c4  ,whereas the ,united ,states       
acquired ,puerto ,rico through the      
,spanish-,american ,war intending to    
keep the islands1 but the ,supreme      
,court divined that the territory had   

become a possession of the ,united      
,states1 meaning that it can become     
either a ,state or a sovereign nation   
and it can be treated differently than  
parts of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas1 
in #aiag1 ,united ,states citizenship   
was granted to individuals born in      
,puerto ,rico to permanently bind the   
territory to the ,nation2 ,whereas      
territory status prevents the #c4a      
million ,americans of the islands from  
having votes in the ,government that    
makes their laws 7other than the vote in
 committee of a resident commissioner71 
a democratic deficit1 which all of the  
territory's leaders reject2 ,whereas    
,puerto ,rico is a ,state for the       
purposes of most--but not all--,federal 
laws1 but the territory and our fellow  
,americans there are1 overall1 treated  
worse than the ,states and their        
residents2 ,whereas it has been the     
longstanding policy of the ,united      
,states that a vote among our citizens  
in the territory will determine whether 

it will ultimately become a ,state or a 
nation2 ,whereas ,puerto ,rico's last   
two status plebiscites1 which were      
limited to but included all of the      
territory's possible future statuses1   
rejected the current status and chose   
statehood but the number of votes caused
 some people to question whether they   
accurately reflected the electorate2    
,whereas the ,puerto ,rico ,oversight1  
,management1 and ,economic ,stability   
,act 7,public ,law #aad-ahg7 recognizes 
the territory's right to determine its  
future political status through the     
plebiscite provided for by ,public ,law 
#aac-gf or otherwise2 ,whereas the      
elected government of ,puerto ,rico has 
enacted a law to have a plebiscite on   
statehood on ,november #c1 #bjbj2       
,whereas the vote would resolve any     
question as to the will of the territory
 because opponents of equality within   
the ,nation for any reason--including1  
but not limited to1 support of the      
current status or a desire for          

nationhood--could vote ,no2 ,whereas we 
recognize the ,department of ,justice   
has issued an opinion and express our   
opposition to it on grounds that the    
plebiscite language is a simple1 clear  
question and allows voters to vote for  
the status of their choice through the  
yes-or-no framework2 ,whereas those who 
favor ,puerto ,rico's status as a       
territory or sovereign nation can vote  
,no on the ballot in ,november2 and     
,whereas ,congress has the ultimate     
authority to admit new ,states          
regardless of any ,department of        
,justice opinion in accordance with     
article ,,iv1 section #c1 clause #a of  
the ,constitution3 ,now1 therefore1 be  
it ,that the ,house of                  
,representatives-- 7#a7 declares that   
the ,congress and the ,president will   
have a duty to act in #bjba on the      
self-determination choice of the people 
of ,puerto ,rico if the plebiscite      
chooses statehood2  7#b7 recognizes that
 implementation legislation will need to

 include measures to phase-in the equal 
treatment of the territory and its      
residents in ,federal laws2 and  7#c7   
states that such measures should        
implement equality for ,puerto ,rico and
 ,puerto ,ricans as expeditiously as    
reasonably possible4