Senator Marco Rubio is a long-time supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico. At some times in the past, he has expressed concern that it is too early to ask for a vote in Congress, but in 2018 he made this statement at his website:
I support the right of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico to seek admission to the union as a state. I will continue working on our strategy of building support in the Senate and creating the conditions necessary to achieve the 60 votes needed for success.
Rubio is a Republican, and his party supports statehood. The Republican Party platform ratified at the 2016 party convention contains this statement:
Senator @MarcoRubio, as your constituent and a voter I want to thank you for supporting statehood for Puerto Rico. I urge you to continue your commitment by introducing a Senate companion bill to the “Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act,” H.R. 4901. Click To TweetWe support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico’s future admission as the 51st state of the Union.
Why is Senator Rubio important?
An admission bill for Puerto Rico statehood, HR 4901, has been introduced in the House. Bills must pass both in the House and the Senate and then go to the president for a signature. The screenshot below shows Congress.gov, a website which shows the progress of all bills in Congress. HR 4901 has been introduced, and must still pass in both the House and the Senate before becoming law.
Florida’s senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both support statehood. They could introduce the Senate bill.
How can you help this happen?
If you live in Florida, tell your senators that you want them to introduce the senate admission bill. The link in the previous sentence will take you to a page where there is a draft email which you can use, and a tool that will send your email to your senators automatically.
If you prefer, you can tweet or write a letter or call. Our page for Floridians has all the contact information you need.
If you don’t live in Florida, you can still write to Senator Rubio, and we hope you will contact your legislators, too. But please ask your friends and family in Florida to reach out to Senator Rubio. He represents the people of Florida, and we believe that he needs to know that his constituents want statehood for Puerto Rico, just as he does.
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