Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2070 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- determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional consider- ation of such decision, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 18, 2021 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. WATERS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEAL, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. MENG, Mr. SIRES, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. BROWN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. BUSH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. EVANS, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. BASS, Mr. MFUME, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. JONES, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. WELCH, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. SAN NICO- LAS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. WILD, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CAR- SON, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CORREA, Mr. HIG- GINS of New York, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2070 IH 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-determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Self-De- 4 termination Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) In 1898, the United States defeated the 8 Spanish Kingdom in the Spanish-American War and 9 acquired by conquest Puerto Rico, Guam, and the 10 Philippines pursuant to the Treaty of Paris. 11 (2) In 1900, Congress established a civilian 12 government on the island through the Foraker Act. 13 Among other points, that Act established an ‘‘execu- 14 tive council’’ consisting of various department heads 15 and a presidentially appointed civilian governor. 16 (3) The Foraker Act also established the Resi- 17 dent Commissioner position to represent island in- 18 terests in Congress. These duties came to include 19 nonvoting service in the House of Representatives. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2070 IH (4) In 1901, the Supreme Court’s decisions in 1 Downes v. Bidwell and its progeny held that for pur- 2 poses of the Constitution’s Uniformity Clause, Puer- 3 to Rico was not part of the United States and sub- 4 ject to the plenary powers of Congress, which in 5 turn established a colonial relationship. Justice 6 White, in concurrence, opined that Congress has dis- 7 cretion to decide whether and when to incorporate a 8 territory into the United States. 9 (5) Congress recognized Puerto Rico’s authority 10 over matters of internal governance in 1950 with the 11 passage of the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 12 1950 (Public Law 81–600), providing for a constitu- 13 tional government for the island which was adopted 14 by Congress as a compact for the people of Puerto 15 Rico and the subsequent ratification of the island’s 16 constitution in July 1952. 17 (6) On November 18, 1953, the United Nations 18 recognized Puerto Rico as a self-governing political 19 entity under the United Nations General Assembly 20 Resolution 748. 21 (7) The political status of Puerto Rico is of sig- 22 nificant interest to communities both on and off the 23 island, including diaspora groups that continue hav- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2070 IH ing strong cultural ties and socioeconomic ties to 1 Puerto Rico. 2 (8) The United States has a legal duty to com- 3 ply with Article 1 of the International Covenant on 4 Civil and Political Rights, which establishes that all 5 peoples have the right to self-determination and ‘‘by 6 virtue of that right they freely determine their polit- 7 ical status and freely pursue their economic, social 8 and cultural development’’. 9 (9) The status convention provides a delibera- 10 tive, comprehensive, and uninterrupted space of dia- 11 logue that can define the future of Puerto Rico. 12 SEC. 3. PUERTO RICO STATUS CONVENTION. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The legislature of Puerto Rico has 14 the inherent authority to call a status convention through 15 an Act or Concurrent Resolution, constituted by a number 16 of delegates to be determined in accordance with legisla- 17 tion approved by the Government of Puerto Rico, for the 18 purpose of proposing to the people of Puerto Rico self- 19 determination options. A status convention called by the 20 legislature of Puerto Rico shall— 21 (1) be a semipermanent body that is dissolved 22 only when the United States ratifies the self-deter- 23 mination option presented to Congress by the status 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2070 IH convention as selected by the people of Puerto Rico 1 in the referendum under section 5; and 2 (2) consist of delegates elected by the voters of 3 Puerto Rico in an election conducted according to 4 the enabling legislation for the status convention as 5 approved by the legislature of Puerto Rico. 6 (b) PUBLIC FINANCING OF DELEGATE ELEC- 7 TIONS.— 8 (1) FUND ESTABLISHED.—There is hereby es- 9 tablished in the Treasury of the United States a 10 fund to be known as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Status Con- 11 vention Public Matching Fund’’ which shall be ad- 12 ministered by the Puerto Rico State Commission on 13 Elections and subject to oversight by the Federal 14 Election Commission. To the extent amounts are 15 made available in the fund for this purpose, the 16 Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections shall 17 distribute amounts in the fund such that $4 is dis- 18 tributed to each candidate for delegate for every $1 19 that the candidate receives as a campaign contribu- 20 tion that is— 21 (A) less than $100; and 22 (B) donated by a resident of Puerto Rico. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2070 IH (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING.—To be eli- 1 gible to receive funds under this subsection, a can- 2 didate for delegate shall— 3 (A) agree to increased financial oversight 4 from the Federal Election Commission; 5 (B) limit campaign spending to not more 6 than $25,000; and 7 (C) demonstrate a basic level of support 8 from residents of Puerto Rico by receiving from 9 residents of Puerto Rico not fewer than 50 do- 10 nations from 50 individuals of not more than 11 $50. 12 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE AMOUNTS.— Not more 13 than 10 percent of amounts made available under 14 paragraph (4) may be use for administrative costs of 15 the Federal Election Commission. 16 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 17 There is authorized to be appropriated and deposited 18 into the Puerto Rico Status Convention Public 19 Matching Fund to carry out this section $5,500,000. 20 (c) DELEGATES.—Delegates elected under subsection 21 (a)(2), in consultation with the Commission, shall— 22 (1) debate and draft definitions on self-deter- 23 mination options for Puerto Rico, which shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2070 IH outside the Territorial Clause of the United States 1 Constitution; 2 (2) draft a least one accompanying transition 3 plan for each self-determination option; and 4 (3) select and present to the people of Puerto 5 Rico the self-determination options that will be in- 6 cluded in the referendum under section 5. 7 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BILATERAL NEGOTIATING COM- 8 MISSION. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con- 10 gressional Bilateral Negotiating Commission (hereinafter 11 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) to provide advice and 12 consultation to delegates elected under section 3(a)(2). 13 (b) COMPOSITION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Com- 15 mission shall include— 16 (A) the chairs of the Committee on Nat- 17 ural Resources of the House of Representatives 18 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 19 sources of the Senate; 20 (B) the ranking members of the Com- 21 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 22 Representatives and the Committee on Energy 23 and Natural Resources of the Senate; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2070 IH (C) one member selected by the majority 1 leader of the House of Representatives; 2 (D) one member selected by the minority 3 leader of the House of Representatives; 4 (E) one member selected by the majority 5 leader of the Senate; 6 (F) one member selected by the minority 7 leader of the Senate; 8 (G) the Resident Commissioner of Puerto 9 Rico; 10 (H) with the consent of the Speaker of the 11 House of Representatives and majority leader 12 of the Senate, a member from the Department 13 of Justice; and 14 (I) with the consent of the Speaker of the 15 House of Representatives and majority leader 16 of the Senate, a member from the Department 17 of the Interior. 18 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS.— 19 Members selected under subparagraphs (C) through 20 (F) of paragraph (1) shall represent a State or dis- 21 trict in a State that, as determined by the most re- 22 cently publicly available data from the Bureau of the 23 Census, represents one of the 10 States with the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2070 IH largest population of people who identified on the 1 most recent Census as Puerto Rican. 2 (c) DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS.—The Commission— 3 (1) shall meet periodically with the delegates in 4 Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, at the re- 5 quest of a majority of the delegates, with each meet- 6 ing required to include at least one delegate from 7 each of the self-determination options; 8 (2) shall have the authority to— 9 (A) study; 10 (B) make findings; 11 (C) develop recommendations regarding 12 self-determination options on constitutional 13 issues and policies related to— 14 (i) culture; 15 (ii) language; 16 (iii) judicial and public education sys- 17 tems; 18 (iv) taxes; and 19 (v) United States citizenship; and 20 (D) provide technical assistance and con- 21 stitutional advice to the delegates during the 22 Puerto Rico status convention; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2070 IH (3) may hold public hearings in connection with 1 any aspects of the convention at the request of the 2 delegates or on its own; and 3 (4) may receive testimony. 4 (d) REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 5 (1) not less than quarterly, provide status re- 6 ports, findings, and studies to the House of Rep- 7 resentatives and the Senate; 8 (2) not less than once every 12 months, submit 9 a status report to the House of Representatives and 10 the Senate; and 11 (3) make reports submitted under paragraph 12 (2) available to the general public in widely acces- 13 sible formats in English and Spanish on the same 14 day that such reports are submitted under para- 15 graph (2). 16 SEC. 5. PUERTO RICO STATUS REFERENDUM; EDUCATION 17 CAMPAIGN. 18 (a) STRUCTURE AND PROCESS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A referendum vote by the 20 people of Puerto Rico— 21 (A) may be conducted in a ranked-choice 22 voting format in which voters rank choices by 23 preference on their ballots without a limit on 24 the number of choices ranked; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2070 IH (B) may consist of choices each composed 1 of a self-determination definition and accom- 2 panying transition plan as presented by the del- 3 egates under section 3; and 4 (C) may include more than one choice with 5 the same self-determination definition, but a 6 distinct accompanying transition plan as pre- 7 sented by the delegates under section 3. 8 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 9 There is authorized to be appropriated the Puerto 10 Rico State Commission on Elections, $2,500,000 to 11 carry out a referendum vote under this subsection. 12 (b) EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Delegates shall carry out an 14 educational campaign through traditional paid media 15 related to the referendum under subsection (a). 16 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 17 There is authorized to be appropriated the Puerto 18 Rico State Commission on Elections, $5,000,000 to 19 carry out an educational campaign under this sub- 20 section. The Federal Election Commission shall en- 21 sure that funds made available under this paragraph 22 are divided equally among each self-determination 23 option represented on the referendum held under 24 this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2070.IH H2070 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2070 IH (3) QUARTERLY CAMPAIGN REPORTS.—Each 1 delegates shall submit quarterly campaign reports of 2 the educational campaigns to the Federal Election 3 Commission. 4 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL DELIBERATION AND ENAC [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]