Last week, Governor Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico swore in five representatives and two senators. This group of seven will soon travel to Washington, D. C. and ask to be seated as the congressional delegation for the state of Puerto Rico. This ceremony followed a vote earlier this year in which an astounding 97 percent of voters who went to the polls in Puerto Rico voted to become a U. S. state.
Under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution, Congress could choose to admit Puerto Rico immediately—no explicit rules are set for requirements. On the other hand, there’s no rule that says Congress has to seat them at all, no matter how the citizens voted. Congress has denied applications before, most notably when the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) banded together in 1905 and asked to be admitted as the state of Sequoyah in a last ditch effort to maintain control over their lands. Congress ignored them.
The reason for the failure of the Sequoyah was simple—Congress at the time was dominated by Republicans. The members of the Five Civilized Tribes were expected to vote Democratic. That’s also why Republicans in Congress stalled the move to turn the District of Columbia into the State of New Columbia in the mid 1980s. And it’s part of the challenge that Puerto Rico faces today.
Although the delegation being sent to Washington by the would-be state is bipartisan—including a Republican senator, along with two Republicans and an independent among the Representatives—if admitted as a state, Puerto Rico could be expected to provide more power to Democrats in Congress. For that reason, Republicans view its admission as a threat and are reluctant to act on statehood, even though the Republican platform explicitly calls for Puerto Rico to be admitted as a state.
And there’s another reason some Republicans and even some Democrats in Congress don’t want Puerto Rico to gain statehood. At the moment, the government of Puerto Rico is $72 billion in debt. Thanks to Congress, that government wasn’t allowed protection via traditional bankruptcy, and has been saddled with a crippling austerity plan and a form of not-quite-bankruptcy that doesn’t protect them from all creditors. If Puerto Rico were a state, it could reorganize under broader legal protection without Congress having a direct say. By forcing it to remain a territory, Congress keeps control of Puerto Rico’s wallet.
The crushing debt, and how it should be handled, had a large role in recent elections. Puerto Rico has faced votes on the statehood question several times, going back to 1963. In 2012, statehood supporters won the day, but that vote was a confusing two-stage affair in which voters first had to vote to declare whether the current status of Puerto Rico should be maintained, and then those voting against were given the choice of three options.
Even though statehood won, and even though both several members of Congress and major media outlets pressed for recognition of that vote, opponents used the complexity of the ballot and charges of voting irregularities as an excuse to ignore that outcome.
However, Congress did agree to put a more formal process in place for considering Puerto Rico’s application and set aside funds for a future vote. President Obama signed a bill authorizing the bill and the upcoming vote in 2014.
The 2017 vote that followed was a much more simple affair. Initially, Puerto Ricans were offered just two options—statehood or independence. Under pressure a third option, status quo, was added. However, political parties opposed to statehood felt the wording of the ballot was leading and called for a boycott. The result was a turnout of only 22 percent—but an overwhelming win for statehood. Part of the reason for that overwhelming vote was the hope that statehood would offer Puerto Rico better tools to address its debt.
Under the 2014 agreement, Donald Trump should now submit legislation to Congress, asking that Puerto Rico be admitted as a state. However, the statehood vote was held in June and neither Trump nor Congress has taken steps to recognize the results. There may be hearings this fall under, oddly enough, the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the financial plan for the territory.
While Puerto Rico waits for action, their institutions are under tremendous strain, citizens are suffering, and unrest is growing. Meanwhile, some in Congress are loath to give Puerto Rico further relief, because they support the interest of hedge funds that have profited from—and been partially responsible for—the government’s collapse.
Because it couldn’t file for traditional bankruptcy, and was in desperate need of cash, Puerto Rico began issuing high yield bonds to attract investors. Hedge funds snapped them up, and in a vicious cycle drove the rates ever higher. Unfortunately for bond investors, many funds kept playing this game far longer than there was any hope of the territorial government ever meeting the obligations, and eventually the government was given some relief under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016—a plan that leaves the territory’s government and citizens in an incredibly tight squeeze.
The government plans sweeping austerity measures in the coming months that will hit teachers especially hard. On Friday, Puerto Rico’s education secretary announced a proposal to close 184 schools. …
Fines for parking and other traffic violations have doubled. Dozens of government agencies are on the chopping block, while perks like the annual Christmas bonus and pay for unused sick time make for wistful memories.
On an island where household electric bills often reach hundreds of dollars, residents are worried that their future has been placed in the hands of strangers — an oversight board and a federal judge — who may or may not feel much empathy for American citizens whose per capita income is about $15,000 but who pay $6.25 for a gallon of milk and have an 11.5 percent sales tax.
The fiscal crisis on Puerto Rico was exacerbated by Congress using the territory to test out theories on tax rates and other fees over decades. For awhile, Puerto Rico was treated as a giant “enterprise zone” that gave companies that worked there special protection and even direct funding. The result was a boom on the island, that turned just as quickly to bust when Congress withdrew its support. Statehood would put much more control in local hands and, hopefully, provide stability.
Though the Constitution doesn’t specify how states are to be added, since 1796 Congress has generally followed the Tennessee Plan. Under that plan a state holds a popular vote for statehood, develops a constitution, and applies to have its congressional delegation seated. The plan has been used 37 times, most recently for Alaska and Hawaii.
Puerto Rico has been a US territory since the end of the Spanish American War in 1898. With a population just over 3,500,000 it would be the 29th state in terms of population. With an area of 3,515 square miles, it would be the 49th state in size, beating out just Delaware and Rhode Island. The average income per capita would make Puerto Rico by far the poorest state, with incomes less than half of the average in Mississippi.
In 2016, Puerto Rico suffered through over 34,000 identified infections by Zika, including 4,000 cases involving pregnancy. Congress consistently refused to vote assistance for the Island. Fortunately, many fewer cases have been reported in 2017.