Puerto Rico on Wednesday announced a new push for statehood after last year’s effort was disrupted by two disastrous hurricanes.
Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, the U.S. territory’s nonvoting member of Congress, went to the House floor Wednesday along with a proposed delegation of two senators and five representatives to demand that Congress recognize Puerto Rico as a state.
“The island overwhelmingly voted for statehood in 2012 by a margin of 61 percent and 97 percent in June of last year,” Gonzalez said. Despite those numbers, only 24 percent of the population participated in the 2017 plebiscite that is often cited as evidence of broad support for statehood.
“That’s the request that brought me here, that’s what brings the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, the Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera-Schatz, House Speaker Johnny Mendez, and other officials that have come to witness today’s historic introduction of the Puerto Rico Shadow Delegation to this Congress,” she added. “That delegation will demand that the United States recognize the will of Puerto Rico to become a state.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is over. Houston, Miami and other coastal cities are rebuilding and prospering.
Puerto Rico, on the other hand, is still recovering. And now $113 million in bonus payments to state emplyees has put a giant question mark on the U.S. territory’s priorities.
Many areas are without power, but it’s no longer just because of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico was hit hard, but there have been areas that have recovered much quicker from Category 5 storms. Perhaps it has something to do with being under Democrat control for 44 of the past 52 years
The island was pushed to bankruptcy in May of 2017 thanks to poor financial management.
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The worst offense yet is still emerging. Puerto Rico is doling out $113 million in Christmas bonuses to current and former government employees, according to Bloomberg.
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