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• Overview
• The Status of Puerto Rico in Historical Context
• Choosing Puerto Rico’s Future
  • Status Bills in the 104^th Congress
  • Status Bills in the 105^th Congress
• Continued Commonwealth
  • Advantages of Commonwealth over Statehood
  • Advantages of Commonwealth over Independence
  • Major Disadvantages
• Independence
  • Advantages of Independence over Statehood
  • Advantages of Independence over Commonwealth
  • Major Disadvantages
• Statehood
  • Advantages of Statehood over Commonwealth
  • Advantages of Statehood over Independence
  • Major Disadvantages
• Problems for the United States
• Puerto Rico and Quebec
• Conditions for Statehood
• A Long-Term Approach
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Results of U.S.ENGLISH, Inc. Survey of American Voters
• Appendix B: Results of U.S.ENGLISH, Inc. Survey of Puerto Rico Residents

Because of the confusion surrounding interpretation of the results of the 1993 vote, the 104^th Congress considered, but did not pass, two bills that would provide for another plebiscite to be held by 1998. Although there were differences between the bills, both would have mandated a plebiscite structured in such a way that there would have to be a majority vote for one of the options.

The House of Representatives bill, H.R. 3024, allowed only two choices: independence or statehood. A continuation of the current Commonwealth status would not be an option. Included within the independence option is the idea of a "free associated state," under which Puerto Rico would be a sovereign nation with a bilateral agreement of free association with the United States.

The Senate bill, S. 2019, would have created a ballot with two questions. First, voters would be asked to choose between either maintaining the current Commonwealth status or changing to some form of sovereignty. Second, they would be asked which form of sovereignty they would prefer if Commonwealth were rejected: independence or statehood.

Critics charged that the bills were biased in favor of a pro-statehood vote. The House bill did not allow a vote for the most popular option, Commonwealth, and in the 1993 plebiscite the pro-statehood voters outnumbered the pro-independence voters by a ten-to-one margin. Under the Senate bill, the first ballot question grouped the diametrically opposed statehood and independence options together as one choice in opposition to Commonwealth, and then separated them on the second question. If the same percentages from the 1993 plebiscite were applied to the Senate ballot questions, Commonwealth would lose to the combined statehood and independence vote on the first question, and then statehood would win over independence on the second question.

The House bill was withdrawn from consideration after it was amended to require that English be the language of instruction in Puerto Rico’s public schools.

In the 105^th Congress, the House of Representatives is considering H.R. 856, which is based on H.R. 3024 from the 104^th Congress, with one important difference: The bill has been changed to allow all three options to be presented, instead of just statehood or independence. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate as S. 472. The bills provide for a plebiscite to be held at least once every ten years until one of the permanent options (statehood or independence) is chosen.

Commonwealth supporters have pushed for a definition of commonwealth that would be different from the status quo. It would lead to enhanced rights for Puerto Ricans. Statehood supporters argue that such a definition tilts the plebiscite toward commonwealth. While it is possible to create an "enhanced commonwealth" with different details from the present arrangement, the fundamental relationship would remain: Congress would still have control of Puerto Rico under the territorial clause. However, the House Committee on Resources rejected the "enhanced commonwealth" definition.

If the people of Puerto Rico are to decide their future, they must be able to make an informed choice. Congress must define the advantages and limitations of continuing as a Commonwealth under the authority of Congress, as well as explaining what changes from the status quo will accompany a choice of independence or statehood. The following three sections of this paper will address the benefits and problems associated with each of the possibilities.

Puerto Rico’s status has been given the label "Commonwealth," but a more technical definition is that the island is an unincorporated territory under the jurisdiction of the United States government. This means that Puerto Rico is under the "Territorial Clause" of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 3), which states, "The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States…."

The practical result of Puerto Rico’s status under the territorial clause is that Congress retains ultimate authority over it. Therefore, any discussion of the advantages and disadvantages under the current arrangement must keep in mind the caveat that Congress could alter the arrangement, even without the approval of the Puerto Rican people. However, there are two aspects of the current arrangement that Congress cannot alter:

First, Congress cannot give voting representation in Congress to Puerto Rico unless Puerto Rico is a state. Only states can have Representatives and Senators. Nor could Congress grant Puerto Ricans the right to vote for President; it would take a Constitutional amendment such as the 23^rd Amendment, which gave the District of Columbia Electoral College votes.

Second, except by granting statehood or independence, Congress cannot change the fact that, as a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico is under the direct control of Congress. Any degree of self-government Congress allows to Puerto Rico can be taken away by an act of Congress. While the current Commonwealth allows a large degree of local autonomy, there is no legal barrier to Congress replacing the elected governor and legislature with some other form of government. Thus, Puerto Rico cannot be assured of any permanent status under the Commonwealth option. However, such a lack of permanence is not necessarily a bad thing at this time. Until there is a general consensus among the people of Puerto Rico as to what the island’s permanent status should be, the Commonwealth option allows both independence and statehood supporters to work toward their goals.

The current Commonwealth status avoids some of the major disadvantages that would accompany a change to statehood or independence. Because of this, Commonwealth advocates used the slogan "The best of two worlds" during the campaign before the 1993 plebiscite.

The main advantages of Commonwealth over statehood involve Puerto Rico’s unique culture and sense of identity. Supporters of Commonwealth argue that statehood would erode Puerto Rico’s culture, language, and sense of national identity.

Perhaps the most visible symbol of Puerto Rican national pride is the Puerto Rican Olympic team. During the 1996 Olympics, the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) ran television ads showing an athlete running in reverse and having his medal taken away, dramatizing the fact that Puerto Rico could not maintain its own Olympic team after becoming a state. Although some statehood supporters have argued that a separate Olympic team would still be possible, a careful examination of International Olympic Committee rules and relevant U.S. law has come to the opposite conclusion.

During the 1993 plebiscite campaign, there was another highly visible reminder of national pride: the reigning Miss Universe was a Puerto Rican.

Pride in Puerto Rico’s heritage goes deeper than sports and beauty pageants, however. Of much more fundamental importance, and touching the life of all Puerto Ricans, is the issue of language. Ninety-eight percent of Puerto Rico’s population speaks Spanish; more than half speak no English at all, and another quarter speaks it with difficulty. Even though statehood supporters insist that a Puerto Rican state can keep Spanish as its language, many Puerto Ricans share the worries of Commonwealth advocate Roberto Sanchez, who says that if Puerto Rico becomes a state, "our children will forget to speak Spanish, and we will eventually lose our culture."

In addition to matters of cultural pride, there are some economic considerations that give Commonwealth an edge over statehood. Puerto Ricans who work on the island do not pay federal taxes on their earnings. Such a tax break would not be possible if Puerto Rico became a state, because all states are admitted on an "equal footing" with the others.

Since 1976, corporations were given a tax incentive to build factories and employ people in Puerto Rico. Many companies, particularly pharmaceutical manufacturers, took advantage of this provision. Section 936 of the federal tax code was a key to building up Puerto Rico’s economy to the point that it has the highest per capita income in Latin America. However, to the general dismay of Commonwealth supporters, Congress recently voted to phase out Section 936, so this economic incentive is no longer a factor.

Commonwealth’s major advantages over independence are the benefits that come with U.S. citizenship. Although recently some independence supporters symbolically renounced their U.S. citizenship, the majority of Puerto Ricans value their citizenship.

As U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans are able to move freely to the mainland United States. As a result, most Puerto Ricans on the island have family and friends living on the mainland. If Puerto Rico were to become an independent nation, citizens of Puerto Rico would be subject to United States immigration laws. Moving to the mainland would no longer be a simple process.

Another benefit of U.S. citizenship is the resources the United States can bring to bear when the interests of U.S. citizens are threatened by other nations. The political and military muscle that the United States can use in the international arena is far greater than anything the independent nation of Puerto Rico could muster.

There are also economic benefits to remaining a part of the United States. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. market, meaning that there is free trade with the United States, and, through NAFTA, with Canada and Mexico. The U.S. dollar is one of the most stable currencies in the world—an independent Puerto Rico’s currency might suffer from the hyper-inflation that has plagued other Latin American economies. Puerto Ricans also receive direct economic assistance from the federal government.

Other than the problems of lack of permanent status and voting representation mentioned above, the only major drawback to Commonwealth status as currently implemented is that, while Puerto Rico’s inhabitants do receive some government benefits, they do not qualify for the same level of benefits as people in the mainland United States. Congress has estimated that Puerto Rico would receive three to four billion dollars per year more from the federal government if benefits were brought up to the same level as the rest of the United States.

Puerto Rico has not been independent for more than five centuries. A possession of Spain for over four hundred years, and a territory of the United States for nearly one hundred, the island has never had a chance to make it on its own. While every other Spanish colony in the New World won its independence through armed rebellion, Puerto Rico did not.

Independence garnered only 4.4% of the vote in the 1993 plebiscite, but that figure is actually an undercount of the support for independence. Many independence supporters, frightened by the fact that statehood had a slim lead in the polls, voted for Commonwealth status in order to defeat statehood. Actual support for independence runs higher than 4.4%, but still less than 10%.

Such a poor showing in the polls does not dampen the spirits of pro-independence activists. Rubén Berríos Martínez, a Senator in the Puerto Rican Senate and president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, points out that, a mere two years before the Declaration of Independence, George Washington declared, "Independence is not desired by any thinking man in North America."

Both statehood and independence supporters see Puerto Rico as the last major colony left in the world. But while statehood supporters believe the solution is to give Puerto Rico equal status within the United States, independence supporters believe such a move would create more problems than it solves. The importance of language and culture to the Puerto Rican people cannot be underestimated. Even statehood supporters agree that language and culture are non-negotiable. Supporters of independence point to Quebec, Ireland, Lithuania, and Bosnia to demonstrate the powerful and disruptive effects of cultural incompatibility, and warn that the United States is asking for trouble if it makes Puerto Rico a state.

The advantages of independence stem from the desire of the Puerto Rican people to maintain their language and culture. If Puerto Rico ever achieves independence, it will be because the power of national identity overcame economic and political ties.

Independence offers Puerto Rico the same cultural and national pride advantages over statehood that the Commonwealth option does: participation in international competitions such as the Olympics and the Miss Universe contest, use of Spanish in government affairs, maintenance of Puerto Rico’s unique culture.

Independence does not offer benefits over statehood in the economic arena, except as a matter of national pride: as a state, Puerto Rico would be the state with the lowest per capita income, but as an independent country, Puerto Rico would be the country with the highest per capita income in Latin America.

The great advantage of independence over Commonwealth is self-determination. The government of Puerto Rico would no longer be subject to the power of Congress to alter or abolish it. Puerto Rico would be free to choose its own destiny, whether within a close relationship with the United States through an agreement of free association, or in any other way. Independence also offers the comfort of permanence. The Commonwealth option is, by its very nature, a non-permanent status.

Puerto Rico had no vote on whether or not Section 936 of the federal tax code should be repealed. When Congress decided to eliminate one of the most important foundations to Puerto Rico’s economic progress, all the Puerto Rican people could do was stand by and watch. As an independent nation, Puerto Rico could pursue its economic policies without direct interference from anyone else.

While Commonwealth status allows a great degree of linguistic and cultural freedom, the close ties to the United States have a profound effect on the island’s culture. Independence is also better suited to maintaining Puerto Rico’s language and culture without interference from the United States.

The major disadvantages to independence are the inconveniences that would come with the loss of U.S. citizenship. Although some independence advocates believe that a dual citizenship agreement could be worked out with the United States, allowing Puerto Ricans to retain their U.S. citizenship, such an agreement is unlikely.

Travel from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States would become international travel. As such, it would be subject to more restrictions. Permanently moving to the United States would be subject to the limits of immigration laws.

Puerto Rico would have to create its own military from scratch for defense purposes, which is an expensive proposition. Opening up embassies throughout the world in order to carry on diplomatic relations would also provide considerable challenges to an independent Puerto Rico.

In the 1967 plebiscite, statehood garnered only thirty-nine percent of the vote, losing to Commonwealth by twenty-one percentage points. Twenty-six years later, statehood had narrowed the gap to about two points.

Some have argued that, should Puerto Ricans vote in favor of statehood, Congress would be legally obligated to grant it. A careful examination of the legal principles involved, however, shows that this claim is false: the admission of states into the Union remains within the sole discretion of Congress.

Others have argued that, even if there is no legal right to statehood for Puerto Rico, there is a moral right to statehood: Puerto Rico has been subject to the United States for so long, and Puerto Rican citizens have fought and died for the United States. Such an argument would make it difficult for Congress to turn down a petition for statehood, should Puerto Ricans vote for it.

Currently, Puerto Ricans who move to the mainland United States enjoy the same legal rights as any other U.S. citizen: the right to vote for Congress and the President, the right to collect full government benefits, etc. Puerto Ricans who remain on the island, however, do not have the full enjoyment of those rights.

If Puerto Rico became a state, it would be the twenty-fifth largest in terms of population. This would mean Puerto Rico would have two Senators and at least six Representatives in Congress, the same as Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Puerto Rico would have at least eight Electoral College votes in Presidential elections, more than twenty-two other states.

Along with the right to vote for U.S. government officials, Puerto Ricans would gain full eligibility for U.S. government benefit programs. Per capita income on the island is less than half that in the poorest state, Mississippi, but current law puts a cap on the amount Puerto Ricans can receive from federal programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. More than half of Puerto Rico’s residents live below the poverty line. Because of the tremendous level of poverty, one of the slogans statehood supporters have used is "Statehood is for the poor."

With statehood, Puerto Rican citizens would automatically be eligible for the same level of benefits as the citizens of the other fifty states. According to the U.S. government’s General Accounting Office (GAO), this means Puerto Ricans would receive an additional three to four billion dollars a year in benefits from the federal government.

Under statehood, Puerto Ricans would also be subject to the federal income tax, but even this turns out to be a blessing for most of them. Nearly two-thirds of Puerto Ricans would be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which gives cash refunds to low income people, even if they paid no taxes at all. According to the GAO, the U.S. government would net only forty-nine million dollars a year in income taxes from the island (and that estimate was made before Congress passed the five-hundred-dollar-per-child tax credit.) So in return for three to four billion dollars a year in welfare benefits, Puerto Rico would have to pay less than two percent of that in taxes.

Furthermore, Puerto Rico would no longer be subject to the absolute power of Congress. As a state, Puerto Rico would still be subject to the laws passed by Congress, but only to the same extent as all other states, and at least Puerto Rico’s Congressional delegation would have a vote.

The advantages of statehood over independence are basically the same as the advantages of Commonwealth over independence: the benefits of U.S. citizenship, common market and common currency with the rest of the United States, and national defense.

First, statehood is a permanent change. Once Puerto Rico becomes a state, Puerto Ricans must live with that choice forever. If conditions change, and Puerto Ricans dislike what is happening to their island and culture as a result of statehood, Puerto Rico cannot secede to become independent, or even return to Commonwealth status. There is no going back.

Second, as a state, Puerto Rico could no longer field a separate Olympic team or send its own representative to international beauty pageants. Puerto Ricans who wished to compete in the international arena would have to compete against other U.S. citizens for the right to represent the United States in competition.

Third, Puerto Rico would have more difficulty maintaining its unique culture when politically integrated into the United States. The use of the Spanish language is important to the people of Puerto Rico. Will Spanish in Puerto Rico follow the path of Hawaiian in Hawaii, reduced almost to the status of a quaint reminder of a previous culture swamped by American culture?

Finally, Puerto Rico would be subject to the same federal taxes as all the other states. Any tax breaks currently enjoyed by people or corporations in Puerto Rico would be gone.

The previous sections have examined the advantages and disadvantages of the different options from the point of view of Puerto Rico. However, it is also imperative to examine the effect of the different options on the rest of the United States.

The current status of Commonwealth holds no surprises for the United States. Independence would present some problems—what to do about citizenship and U.S. military installations on Puerto Rican soil—but such problems would not have much long-term effect on the United States.

As mentioned above, statehood is permanent. Any problems caused by the admission of Puerto Rico into the Union could have damaging long-term consequences. The greatest potential source of problems is the linguistic and cultural differences between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States. Such differences have the potential of creating a situation similar to the Quebec situation in Canada.

Other potential problems for the United States include the drastic economic differences between Puerto Rico and the rest of the states. As mentioned above, Puerto Rico’s per capita income is half that of the poorest state, and more than half the island’s inhabitants live in poverty. Unemployment runs two to three times the rate of unemployment in the United States as a whole.

Puerto Rican statehood may also have a negative impact on the United States’ relations with Caribbean and Latin American countries. To people who currently see Puerto Rico as an American colony, the granting statehood could seem an extension and solidification of American imperialism.

The previous sections have examined the advantages and disadvantages of the different options from the point of view of Puerto Rico. However, it is also imperative to examine the effect of the different options on the rest of the United States.

The current status of Commonwealth holds no surprises for the United States. Independence would present some problems—what to do about citizenship and U.S. military installations on Puerto Rican soil—but such problems would not have much long-term effect on the United States.

As mentioned above, statehood is permanent. Any problems caused by the admission of Puerto Rico into the Union could have damaging long-term consequences. The greatest potential source of problems is the linguistic and cultural differences between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States. Such differences have the potential of creating a situation similar to the Quebec situation in Canada.

Other potential problems for the United States include the drastic economic differences between Puerto Rico and the rest of the states. As mentioned above, Puerto Rico’s per capita income is half that of the poorest state, and more than half the island’s inhabitants live in poverty. Unemployment runs two to three times the rate of unemployment in the United States as a whole.

Puerto Rican statehood may also have a negative impact on the United States’ relations with Caribbean and Latin American countries. To people who currently see Puerto Rico as an American colony, the granting statehood could seem an extension and solidification of American imperialism.

If Congress wishes to admit Puerto Rico as a state, but avoid the problems that Canada is facing over cultural separatism, Congress must create a long-term process of integration to ensure that, upon admission, Puerto Rico is compatible with the rest of the states.

The power to admit new states to the Union is given to Congress by the Constitution. It is subject to only two explicit Constitutional limitations, neither of which applies to the case of Puerto Rico because they involve land that is already within a state. The only other limitation on the power of admission that the Supreme Court has recognized is that new states must be admitted on an "equal footing" with the rest of the states. Thus, the choice of whether or not to make Puerto Rico a state, and under what conditions, is left to the discretion of Congress.

Congress is therefore empowered to require certain levels of cultural and linguistic change in Puerto Rico before admitting it to the Union. Such steps are not unprecedented; Congress has imposed language restrictions on other states during the admissions process.

The first case in which Congress created linguistic requirements for statehood was Louisiana. The Louisiana Enabling Act, passed by Congress in 1811, required in part:

…[A]fter the admission of said territory of Orleans as a state into the Union, the laws which such state may pass shall be promulgated, and its records of every description shall be preserved, and its judicial and legislative written proceedings conducted, in the language in which the laws and the judicial and legislative written proceedings of the United States are now published and conducted….

Oklahoma and New Mexico were both required to have state constitutions providing that public school education be conducted in English (although allowing the teaching of other languages). Arizona was required to guarantee that its executive and legislative official read, write, speak and understand English.

If Puerto Rico were to be admitted immediately as a state under the same requirements as Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, it would require a complete overhaul of the education system and the judiciary. Many of the current legislators might not qualify for re-election due to lack of English fluency. Such drastic changes would clearly not be acceptable to the statehood advocates who insist that language is not negotiable.

Some statehood supporters advocate an officially bilingual state, with Spanish and English the official languages of the state. There is some precedent for this: English and Hawaiian are the official languages of the state of Hawaii, but Hawaiian is only to be used under limited circumstances. A similar status for Spanish is clearly not what the statehood supporters have in mind.

While coequal status for English and Spanish might avoid some pitfalls, such as the problem of Supreme Court review of court records, official bilingualism would be a costly endeavor in a poor state. Furthermore, how much attention would really be paid to English in a state where ninety-eight percent of the population speaks Spanish?

A poll commissioned by U.S.ENGLISH, Inc., shows strong support among the American people for language requirements as a condition of statehood for Puerto Rico. The survey found seventy-four percent of Americans favor a requirement that Puerto Rico establish English as its official language prior to becoming a state, with twenty-two percent opposed. The margin is even greater when considering only those who felt strongly about their answer: sixty-two percent were strongly in favor, and only eleven percent strongly opposed.

Any realistic plan that grants Puerto Rico statehood while minimizing the risks involved in absorbing a large population with a different culture must, of necessity, take a long-term approach. Because statehood is a permanent step, Puerto Rico should make any necessary changes to its institutions prior to statehood, to allow a period of testing and adjustment, so the voters of Puerto Rico can make an informed decision as to whether statehood is what they want.

One possibility would be to require more than one referendum in favor of statehood before statehood would be granted. The first, preliminary vote in favor of statehood would start the process of adjustments necessary before statehood could be granted. After a suitable waiting period, which could be ten to twenty or more years during which the government of Puerto Rico would make the changes required by Congress in order to qualify for statehood, voters would be asked again whether they wanted admission as a state. Such a procedure would allow voters to start toward statehood, but allow them to back out if they felt that it required too much change.

Another idea to consider is requiring a supermajority of voters to approve the statehood option. Several Congressional leaders have suggested such a requirement for statehood. A recent national poll showed that Americans favor requiring at least seventy-five percent approval before statehood. A poll of Puerto Rico residents showed that they favor such a requirement as well. The two most recent states admitted to the Union approved statehood by overwhelming margins: Alaska with a vote of eighty-three percent in favor, and Hawaii with a vote of ninety-four percent in favor. Considering the permanent nature of statehood, it does not make sense to grant it unless the overwhelming majority of Puerto Ricans favor such a step.

Some of the conditions Congress should consider imposing include several that have been required of other states:

• Legislative and judicial proceedings and records must be kept in English.
• English fluency must be required for holding public office.
• Public schools must teach in English.
• English must be the official language of the State of Puerto Rico.
• A supermajority vote of seventy-five percent or more to approve statehood.

Congress must also spell out that such conditions cannot be abrogated after statehood without the consent of the United States. The need for such a provision is shown by the experience of Arizona. Arizona’s proposed constitution included recall of judges. Congress, as a condition of statehood, required that Arizona remove judicial recall from its constitution. Arizona did so, but soon after statehood was granted, recall of judges was put back in the state constitution.

The 1993 plebiscite did not lay the question of Puerto Rico’s status to rest. The future of Puerto Rico can still take one of three paths. Each one offers opportunities and dangers for the people of Puerto Rico.

Commonwealth offers a wide degree of cultural independence and national pride, in conjunction with the benefits of U.S. citizenship, but subject to Congressional rule. Independence offers freedom from Congressional rule, but takes away the benefits of U.S. citizenship. Statehood offers a permanent union and full equality, but threatens the island’s unique cultural heritage.

Language and culture present the biggest obstacles to statehood. Puerto Ricans say that language is not negotiable, yet there would have to be some linguistic adaptation if the State of Puerto Rico is to integrate smoothly into the American polity. Congress has created language use requirements for admission to the Union in the past, and has the power to do so in Puerto Rico’s case.

The people of Puerto Rico have the right to determine their future. Such a choice must not be made lightly or hastily, and must be based on a full understanding of the consequences of each option. Congress can best serve the people of Puerto Rico and the United States by creating a detailed, long-term plan for resolving the question of Puerto Rico’s status. The failure to properly address the language question could eventually give the United States its own Quebec.