Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007
The 2007 bill, (H.R. 900) was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on February 7, 2007 by Congressman José Serrano (D-New York). The bill would have provided for a referendum to be held no later than December 31, 2009. The referendum would have given Puerto Ricans the choice between the options of retaining their present political status, or choosing a new status. If the former option were to win, the referendum would have been held again every 8 years. If the latter option were to win, a separate referendum would have been held no later than December 31, 2011. In this referendum, Puerto Ricans would have been given the option of being admitted as a U.S. State "on equal footing with the other states," or becoming a "sovereign nation, either fully independent from or in free association with the United States." Were Puerto Ricans to choose statehood, independence, or free association, the US Congress would have had six months to act on the wishes of the Puerto Rican people.
The Act had bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives, with 129 co-sponsors, and was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 1936 with bi-partisan support on August 2, 2007 by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) with 15 co-sponsors. The bill was never voted on before the 110th Congress ended.
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