The House has passed legislation that would let voters in Puerto Rico determine the island territory’s future relationship with the United States, including whether to become a state.
The measure has no apparent path to passage in the Senate, however, before Congress adjourns later this month.
“Today for the first time in our nation’s history, the United States will acknowledge its role as a colonizing force, and Puerto Rico’s status as an extended colony,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on the House floor before the vote Thursday. “Never before have terms for independence and free association been so clearly defined, including ramifications for citizenship. This bill excludes the current, unsustainable colonial status.”
