A separatist organization met with Republican Congressman Tom McClintock. Following that meeting, the group announced that McClintock would introduce a bill favoring independence for Puerto Rico. What does this mean for Puerto Rico?
Will a bill be introduced?
McClintock has not announced an intention to introduce an independence bill for Puerto Rico. A separatist group has done so. Is this a hoax like the claims that President Trump had penned an executive order forcing independence on Puerto Rico?
The San Juan Daily Star noted that “McClintock’s bill” has little support in Puerto Rico, but a careful reading of the articles makes it clear that the bill has not been introduced or even announced by the Member of Congress. Once again, a separatist group was the only source of the claim.
McClintock’s official website includes no mention of such a bill. His social media says nothing about it. In fact, the only reason anyone has for imagining that the congressman is planning such a bill is the announcement by a separatist group.
What if a bill is introduced?
If McClintock were to introduce a bill proposing independence for Puerto Rico, it would not be the first independence bill introduced in Congress. The Tydings Bill of 1936 and the Marcantonio bill of the same year seem to have been the first, and the Gutierrez bill in 2017 seems to be the most recent.
None of these bills, nor the others in between, have ever been supported either by Puerto Rico’s elected leaders or by the voters of Puerto Rico. None has ever been seriously considered by Congress, either. Bills calling for a vote in Puerto Rico followed by action in Congress have passed in the legislature, but only a small proportion of bills introduced ever actually become law.
Is independence on the horizon?
If it is true that McClintock plans to introduce an independence bill, if he actually does introduce an independence bill, and if it passes the House and Senate and reaches the president’s desk…Well, that is a lot of “if”s. But if that were to happen, would the president sign such a bill, and could Congress then force independence on Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is strategically important to the United States, now more than ever. There is no reason to imagine that any president would sign a bill forcing independence on Puerto Rico.
Continuing with the fantasy, though, if such a bill became law, could Congress legally withdraw all support for Puerto Rico, against the democratically expressed will of the Island’s voters, leaving Puerto Rico undefended and lacking financial support? Of course it could. Congress could do that at any time. That is the nature of the unincorporated territory.
Statehood is the solution. As a state, Puerto Rico will have sovereignty and rights which territories do not have.
Fortunately, there is no reason to believe that independence is in the offing for Puerto Rico.
Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore
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