The Puerto Rico Status Act has 11 new cosponsors:
- Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania
- Yvette D. Clarke of New York
- Val T. Hoyle of Oregon
- Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts
- Jennifer L. McClellan of Virginia
- Deborah K. Ross of North Carolina
- Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania
- Janice D. Schakowsky of Pennsylvania
- Juan Vargas of California
- Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey
- Susan Wild of Pennsylvania
This brings the number of cosponsors to 76, including both Democrats and Republicans.
Relationships with Puerto Rico
Some of these representatives are in districts with significant Puerto Rican populations and a few have spoken up for Puerto Rico in the past. However, many do not have particularly strong ties to Puerto Rico.
We sometimes hear the idea that people without ties to Puerto Rico cannot or should not support self-determination and a permanent political status for Puerto Rico. This is not true, and not reasonable. As Americans, we all should support equal rights and justice for all, and certainly for all our fellow U.S. citizens.
Since people living in Puerto Rico do not have the power to vote for their president and have only one non-voting member of Congress, we must rely on people living in the states to speak up for Puerto Rico. If your representative is already a cosponsor, please thank them. If they are not, please ask them to take action and get on the right side of history.
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