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Tuesday, December 19, 2011

Pierluisi: “The Status Plebiscite Must Take Place . . . And It Must Take Place Next Year.”

San Juan, Puerto Rico- Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi said today that it is imperative that the people of Puerto Rico be given the opportunity to express themselves about the Island’s political destiny in the coming year, in testimony he delivered to a committee of the Puerto Rico Senate, which is considering status legislation.

“The people should indicate if they want Puerto Rico to maintain its current political status or not, and should express their preferences among the three possible alternatives to the current status. During my testimony, I will state my preference as to how this plebiscite process should be conducted. But the specifics of my proposal should not obscure my fundamental point: regardless of whether the self-determination process is conducted on a single day or not, and regardless of whether this process is conducted on the same date as the general election or not—I believe the process itself must take place and that it must take place next year,” said Pierluisi.

The Resident Commissioner said that it was difficult to believe that 13 years have passed since the people of Puerto Rico were last consulted about the Island’s status. After all, he told the Senate committee, this is a subject that affects the most vital aspects of their constituents’ daily lives: their personal safety, their economic security, their health, and the education of their children.

“I respect the fact that there are political leaders in Puerto Rico whose vision for the Island’s future differs from my own. What I do not respect is politicians who talk about the beauty and the importance of democracy, but who seek to obstruct the people of Puerto Rico from expressing their views in a democratic vote—because these politicians fear that the results may not be to their liking. In 2012, we must ask the people what they believe about this paramount issue, and then we must respect their will,” he said.

Pierluisi noted that, since he has been in Washington, the federal government has taken important steps to advance the cause of self-determination in Puerto Rico and to facilitate the resolution of the Island’s status dilemma. The Resident Commissioner cited the fact that, in May 2010, in a strong bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives approved his bill, H.R. 2499, to authorize a two-step plebiscite on the Island’s political future. Pierluisi also observed that, following House passage of H.R. 2499, Senator Jeff Bingaman and Senator Lisa Murkowski, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to President Obama confirming that statehood, independence, and nationhood in association with the United States are the only possible non-territorial status options available to Puerto Rico.

Pierluisi noted that action by the House of Representatives and the Senate leadership was then followed by action from the Obama Administration. Specifically, Pierluisi pointed out that the March 2011 report issued by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico Status expressly stated: “The Task Force believes the time to act is now,” and that President Obama, during his visit to the Island in June, said: “When the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision, my administration will stand by you.”

“It is absolutely clear that the ball now rests squarely in Puerto Rico’s court. We must act with courage and with the sense of urgency that this issue warrants. The Legislative Assembly should approve status legislation during this extraordinary session, and Governor Fortuño should sign that legislation into law,” said Pierluisi.

The Resident Commissioner emphasized that he supports the process called for in the pending bill to divide the vote into two questions—with the first question asking voters whether they want to continue or to change the current status, and the second question asking voters which of the three possible alternatives they prefer. “Is this the only possible way to structure the process? Of course not. But is it a fair, legitimate and appropriate process? Absolutely,” he said.

Pierluisi said that the process, structured in this way, did not exclude any status option and enabled supporters of the current status to vote for that status. The Resident Commissioner also expressed his opposition to the addition of the word “colonial” to the description of the current status.

“H.R. 2499 did not contain this word, and the final bill that is approved by the Legislative Assembly should not either. The word is unnecessary and divisive, and we should be striving to make this process as inclusive as possible. We must also bear in mind that for a change in Puerto Rico’s status to occur, two things must occur: Puerto Rico must express a desire for a new status and Congress must grant that request. It would be self-defeating to craft a plebiscite ballot whose fairness Congress would question, because Congress could simply decline to implement the results—and then what has been gained?” he asked.

The Resident Commissioner underscored the need to complete the plebiscite process before or at the same time as next year’s general election. “The White House has encouraged us to act swiftly, we promised the people that we would hold a vote before 2013, and it has been 13 years since the people last had chance to express their views about the Island’s status. How much longer must they have to wait?” he asked.

Pierluisi testified that there is an alternate process that is consistent with the overarching goal of completing the consultation process next year. Specifically, he said that the two proposed questions, instead of being asked in separate consultations several months apart, could be posed on a single ballot on the day of the elections. “This procedure would ensure the broadest voter participation and would simplify the process. All of the options would be contained on one ballot and nobody would feel excluded,” explained the Resident Commissioner.

Pierluisi acknowledged that there are some who believe that the question of what political status Puerto Rico should have ought to be kept separate from the question of which political leaders should represent Puerto Rico for the next four years. “I, myself, had reservations before. However, we must all recognize that status is, and always has been, a fundamental issue in our elections. Indeed, in Puerto Rico, political parties are divided based on their respective views on the status question. And, under this procedure, voters would have the opportunity to choose the candidates they prefer and to express themselves on the status question on separate ballots,” he said.

The Resident Commissioner concluded his testimony with a call to action. “When it comes to the issue of status, there will always be politicians who claim that we cannot act, that we should not act, that we must wait for a more appropriate time, that we ought to focus on other things. Well, those people are wrong. We should act. We must act. And I am confident that we will act,” he said.