SECONDLY, WHEN PUERTO RICANS VOTE FOR STATEHOOD IN THE 1998 PLEBISCITE, AS I HOPE THEY WILL, THE UNITED STATES CAN NOT

.

AFFORD NOT TO ADMIT PUERTO RICO INTO THE UNION AS THE FIFTY

FIRST STATE.

AND I'M NOT TALKING

ABOUT

MONETARY

COSTS SINCE

HISTORICALLY THE ISSUE OF STATEHOOD HAS NEVER BEEN A BUSINESS DECISION. OR, AS MY GRANDFATHER SAID, “STATEHOOD IS NOT A QUESTION OF DOLLARS AND CENTS BUT OF A DEER DESIRE FOR -LIBERTY."

-DENIAL OF PUERTO RICO

STATEHOOD WOULD INDERNONG

AMERICA'S CREDIBILITY AS THE WORLD LEADER IN PROMOTING LIBERTY ABROAD AND WOULD SEND A SIGNAL OF EXCLUSION TO THE 27 MILLION HISPANICS WHO POPULATE THE FIFTY STATES.

FINALLY, THE SELF-DETERMINATION PROCESS IN HR 856 LEADING FULL SELF-GOVERNMENT FOR PUERTO RICO SHOULD NOT BE ALTERED.

INITIATIVES TO REWRITE THE BILL'S STATUS OPTION DESCRIPTIONS MUST BE RESISTED. HR 856'S CONSTITUTIONALLY LOURDE DEFINITIONS HAVE BEEN PAINSTAKINGLY RESEARCHT AND THEY

ÓFFER VOTERS THE ONLY STATUS OPTIONS THAT ARE WITHIN

CONGRESS' POWER TO IMPLEMENT.

SIMILARLY, ATTEMPTS IN CONGRESS TO REDEFINE THE STATEHOOD OPTION BY REQUIRING ENGLISH AS PUERTO RICO'S ONLY OFFICIAL LANGUAGE MUST BE VIEWED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COMPROMISE THE SELF-DETERMINATION PROCESS BY FORCING VOTERS TO CHOOSE, REGARDLESS OF CONSTITUTIONALITY, BETWEEN RETAINING SPANISH OR VOTING FOR STATEHOOD.

1-THE STATUS QUO MUST END

IT IS AXIOMATIC ALL OVER THE WORLD THAT WITHOUT THE VOTE PEOPLE ARE NOT IN FULL POSSESSION OF ALL THEIR POLITICAL RIGHTS. SIMILARLY, WITHOUT ALL THE BENEFITS AND DUTIES OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION NO AMERICAN CAN PLAY A FULL ROLE IN OUR SOCIETY OR REALIZE THE AMERICAN DREAM.

THIS IS JUST THE SITUATION WE FIND OURSELVES HERE IN PUERTO RICO. FOR NEARLY 80 YEARS WE HAVE BEEN UNITED STATES CITIZENS BUT WE HAVE NO VOTE IN CONGRESS OR FOR THE PRESIDENT WHO, AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, HAS SENT OVER 200,000 OF OUR YOUTH INTO BATTLE DEFENDING A CONSTITUTION WHICH THE COURTS HAVE DETERMINED IS NOT FULLY APPLICABLE TO US.

MOREOVER, CONGRESS CONTINUES TO MAKE LAWS THAT AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES WITH NO POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO ANY OF THE ISLAND'S RESIDENTS. IN FACT, MANY OF THESE LAWS ARE DISCRIMINATORY. ADDITIONALLY, MANY FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND BENEFITS ARE EITHER INAPPLICABLE HERE OR ARE FUNDED AT LEVELS BELOW THOSE OF THE STATES.

WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT WE DON'T PAY FEDERAL INCOME TAXES OUR ISLAND TAXES ARE ALL THE MORE HIGHER TO COMPENSATE FOR INEQUITABLE FEDERAL FUNDING.

HOWEVER, FEW PUERTO RICANS WOULD NOTICE ANY CHANGE IN THEIR OVERALL TAX BILL IF STATEHOOD CAME SINCE FEDERAL OUTLAYS WOULD CAUSE THE LOCAL TAX BURDEN TO BE REDUCED

PROPORTIONATELY.

CLEARLY, THE CURRENT POLITICAL STATUS CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED. AMERICANS IN PUERTO RICO MUST EITHER BE FIRST CLASS CITIZENS PARTAKING EQUALLY OF THE AMERICAN DREAM AS RESIDENTS OF A FIFTY-FIRST STATE OR MUST EXCHANGE THEIR UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP FOR THAT OF AN INDEPENDENT PUERTO RICO, THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND.

AND, I TRUST THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES, WE WILL CHOOSE GUARANTEED UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP, THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND STATEHOOD.

2-AMERICA MUST ADMIT PUERTO TO THE UNION

ONCE STATEHOOD IS ENDORSED BY OUR VOTERS THE UNITED STATES

HAS NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO HONOR THAT EXPRESSION OF SELF

DETERMINATION.

HOW COULD THE UNITED STATES CONTINUE TO PREACH SELFDETERMINATION TO THE REST OF THE WORLD YET FAIL TO IMPLEMENT A DECISION DEMOCRATICALLY REACHED BY 3.7 MILLION OF ITS OWN CITIZENS AT HOME?

WHAT CREDIBILITY WOULD BE ATTACHED TO AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC LIBERTIES AMONG ITS SPANISH SPEAKING NEIGHBORS IN THIS HEMISPHERE IF IT DENIED THESE SAME BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES TO PUERTO RICO SIMPLY BECAUSE OF ITS HISPANIC ORIGINS?

WHAT CHANCES WOULD EXIST FOR CANDIDATES AT THE NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS TO IN KEY STATES SUCH AS CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, ARIZONA AND FLORIDA, WHERE THE HISPANIC VOTE IS CRITICAL ΤΟ VICTORY,

IF

CONGRESS

UNCONSTITUTIONALLY

REQUIRES PUERTO RICO TO GIVE UP SPANISH AS ONE OF ITS OFFICIAL

LANGUAGES AS A CONDITION FOR STATEHOOD?

THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE SELF-EVIDENT. THE UNITED STATES COULD ILL AFFORD NOT TO ADMIT PUERTO RICO TO THE UNION IF THAT IS THE STATUS CHOSEN IN 1998 BY THE PUERTO RICANS LIVING ON THIS ISLAND.

AMERICA'S WORLD LEADERSHIP DEPENDS ON SUCH EVEN HANDED UNIVERSAL TREATMENT ABROAD AND AT HOME.

AMERICA'S FUTURE SUCCESS IN NURTURING HUMAN DIGNITY AND EQUALITY THROUGHOUT HISPANIC AMERICA MUST REST ON SPREADING THESE RIGHTS TO HISPANICS IN AMERICA AND TO PUERTO

RICO.

AND POLITICAL SUCCESS IN AMERICA AMONG HISPANICS, WHOSE NUMBERS WILL SWELL TO OVER 20 PERCENT OF THE UNITED STATES POPULATION BY 2010, WILL GO TO THOSE WHO SEEK TO BE INCLUSIVE OF AMERICA'S LARGEST MINORITY BY RECOGNIZING PUERTO RICO'S CLAIM TO STATEHOOD AND THE PRESERVATION OF ITS LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.

RONALD REAGAN PUT IT BEST WHEN HE SAID, "IN STATEHOOD,

3-THE SELF-DETERMINATION PROCESS MUST HONEST

MR. CHAIRMAN, AS YOU AND CHAIRMEN BURTON, GALLEGLY AND GILMAN WROTE ON FEBRUARY 29, 1996, IN RESPONSE TO THE RESULTS OF THE 1993 PLEBISCITE, "[T]HERE IS A NEED FOR CONGRESS TO DEFINE THE REAL OPTIONS FOR CHANGE AND THE TRUE LEGAL AND POLITICAL NATURE OF THE STATUS QUO, SO THAT THE PEOPLE CAN KNOW WHAT THE ACTUAL CHOICES WILL BE IN THE FUTURE."