Democrats 'Rigging' Puerto Rico Path to Statehood?

Written By: Chelsea Schilling © 2010 WorldNetDaily  |  Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

House to vote on option for island to become 51st state

A move is afoot to grant statehood to Puerto Rico, and a possible vote in the U.S. House of Representatives may put the island on a path to becoming the nation's 51st state.
Democrat Pedro R. Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's pro-statehood delegate to Congress and former co-chair of President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in Puerto Rico, is sponsor of H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. The act has 181 co-sponsors.
"When I introduced this bill, I pledged to undertake every effort to ensure that the people of Puerto Rico finally have the opportunity to express themselves about the island's political status in a congressionally authorized vote, " Pierluisi said last week. "Like all the battles I have fought in Congress - from the allocation of ARRA funds for Puerto Rico, to the inclusion of the island in the health-care reform legislation - I have not rested for a single moment. Today I am pleased to say that H.R. 2499 will have its day on the House floor, and I am confident that the legislation will be approved overwhelmingly."
Under H.R. 2499, Puerto Ricans would vote on the issue of statehood yet again. Puerto Ricans have voted against statehood three times since 1967, preferring their present status as an independent commonwealth in association with the U.S.
The last statehood vote, or plebiscite, held on Dec. 13, 1998, failed to yield a majority vote on any of the five options: enhanced commonwealth (0.29 percent), statehood (46.4 percent), independence (2.5 percent), free association (0.06 percent) and none of the above (50.3 percent).
'Rigging' the voting process?
The commonwealth status allows the 4 million mostly Spanish-speaking Puerto Ricans to benefit from the protection of the U.S., but they are not required to pay federal income taxes on income they earn from island sources. However, they do pay federal payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. They currently do not vote in presidential elections and have non-voting representation in Congress.
However, some say statehood advocates are "rigging" the voting process to ensure Puerto Rico becomes a state.
In September, the New York Post reported Sen. Jose Hernandez-Mayoral of the island's minority Popular Democratic Party declared, "Behind this innocuous bill lies a fully thought out assault on Congress to designate the island the 51st state.