Rubio Pushes for Puerto Rican Statehood Momentum Amid Senate Setbacks · The Floridian

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Despite a federal bill forcing Congress to admit Puerto Rico as the 51st state—if that's what the mainlanders choose—not passing the Senate, Florida man Sen. Marco Rubio insists that the building momentum for island statehood should not be halted.

The seventh plebiscite, a non-binding vote to gauge Puerto Rican feelings on statehood, is rapidly approaching. However, it's unlikely to impact Congress because the islanders have unsuccessfully voted for statehood six times in the past without swaying Congress. Their asks largely fell on deaf ears until Congress tried to act in 2022 with a bill forcing members to acknowledge the referendum's results.

The bill never made it to the Senate, so a bipartisan delegation drew it up again this year, but Rubio, a Cuban-American Republican and staunch statehood advocate, believes it will fail.

"In 2020, our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico made it clear through their internal referendum that they desire statehood," Rubio said. "Today there are not currently 60 votes for this in the Senate. However, that shouldn't stop us from working on other initiatives that help Puerto Rico thrive economically, including my bipartisan and bicameral MMEDS [Medical Manufacturing, Economic Development, and Sustainability] Act that would rebuild the island’s pharmaceutical industry and make America less reliant on foreign nations for medicine."

He referred to his and Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón's (R-PR) proposed 2020 Act enticing medical device companies to leave foreign territories and come to Puerto Rico, promising a tax credit for compliant businesses. It was reintroduced in 2021, and again in 2023, though it has yet to pass Congress.

Puerto Rico, home to 3.2 million people, has experienced a steady population decline over the years. Many attribute this to frustration over a lack of representation, prompting more Puerto Ricans to move to the mainland U.S., which is home to over 9 million Puerto Ricans, primarily in Florida and New York.

Citizens living on the island cannot vote for the President despite being governed by him, and though they have a congressional Representative, she can't vote on legislation. On top of the shrinking population, the territory also faces an economic depression, debt crisis and bankruptcy, natural disasters, and government mismanagement, the Council on Foreign Relations reported. This largely spawns from the phased-out Section 936 tax incentive in the early 2000s, which allowed U.S. Corporations to not pay taxes on profits made in Puerto Rico, and then the 2008 recession, which the island struggled to recover from.

After over half of Puerto Ricans voted for statehood in the 2020 plebiscite, Rubio made similar comments, saying, "Our fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico have democratically expressed their support for becoming a state. I urge my Senate colleagues to keep an open mind and learn more about statehood before taking a firm position in opposition."

"I will continue to do my part to one day achieve the 60 votes needed in the Senate for admission," he added at the time.

Though the bipartisan bill can't achieve the necessary Senate votes this time around, the upcoming plebiscite is historic: it marks the first time that Puerto Ricans will fully reject being a territory, because that option has been fully nixed from the ballot. Their only options will be statehood, independence, or independence with "free association."

Support for Puerto Rican statehood has increased in recent years, as evidenced by a record 95 co-sponsors in the House and 25 in the Senate for the 2024 bill, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Florida Republican Rick Scott has also expressed approval in the past:

"Right now there is not enough support in Congress for Puerto Rico to become a state. But, I believe that as long as Puerto Rico fixes its fiscal affairs, there will be an opportunity for Puerto Rico to become a state,” Scott said in 2022, expressing concern over a lack of support for the bill.

“Puerto Rico will eventually become a state,” he emphasized.

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Rubio Pushes for Puerto Rican Statehood Momentum Amid Senate Setbacks · The Floridian

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