Contact: Emile Milne/Robin M. Peguero 202 225-4365, Elbert Garcia 212 663-3900

Congressman Charles B. Rangel released the following statement Friday after the House voted 223-169 on Thursday to pass the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, establishing the right of the Puerto Rican people to vote on their political status:

“As a friend of Puerto Rico for all of my 40 years in Congress, it always struck me as unfair that Puerto Ricans are treated as Americans when they are drafted or volunteer to defend this great country, when they pay taxes to our government, when they die in defense of the American flag − but in terms of health care, education, and jobs, you wouldn’t know it. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, yet they have no vote in presidential elections, no representation in the Senate, and only one representative in the House with limited voting power. If Puerto Ricans want more, then they deserve it. But it can’t be mandated for them. They must choose it for themselves.

The Puerto Rico Democracy Act reaffirms the principles of self-determination and allows the people to decide their political future in a democratic vote. In a vote that will be taken every eight years, the Puerto Rican people will get to choose between keeping their current status and changing it. If they vote to change it, a second vote will decide whether the country ought to become independent, become a state, a sovereign nation in free association with the United States, or to continue its current political status. The last option, incorporated through an amendment that was presented on the floor of the House, was important to my vote because it presents an option that has consistently been voted for by the people of Puerto Rico for more than 50 years.

Because of the hard work of so many legislators, I am convinced that the current language reflects and represents the diversity of views on the island regarding their political future. Representative Pedro Pierluisi and his predecessor, current Governor Luis Fortuño, have the interest of the Puerto Rican people and of the United States in mind, and I am confident that they want what is best for both.

This is about the lives and futures of the 4 million Puerto Ricans who reside on the island. No one but the people themselves knows what is in their best interest. So, I say, let’s put it to a vote and allow the Puerto Rican people to control their own destiny.”