With Trump carping about the amount money the spent for disaster relief for the state, a Republican Majority in the US Senate….
And…
The people of the island itself divided on the question of remaining a US Territory ?
This has NO chance….
But it will highlight issues about the island which is trying to get back on its feet after Hurricane Maria…
House lawmakers will unveil legislation Thursday to make Puerto Rico the 51st state in the nation, pushing to give the island equal voting and economic rights in the U.S. government amid an escalating feud between President Trump and Puerto Rico officials over hurricane relief aid.
The legislation, set to be introduced by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) with the support of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, comes as several Democratic presidential candidates have embraced calls to grant statehood to the island, which has been mired in economic stagnation as it struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
The bill is likely to spark a broader debate about its status as a U.S. territory. In Puerto Rico, statehood supporters have for decades fought with those who believe the island should push for greater independence from the United States.
Some lawmakers contend that the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, as well as the imposition of federal control over the island’s budget under President Barack Obama, highlight the danger in leaving the island subject to a government it has no role in electing.
Puerto Rico has been in a recession for about 13 years and faces a government debt crisis, driving hundreds of thousands of residents to move to the states as the island’s poverty rate shot up to about three times the U.S. average.
“You can see the island’s colonial status is not working,” Soto said in an interview. “It’s time to end the 120-year injustice of Puerto Rico being a colony.”
Soto’s legislation is the first in Congress that would automatically make Puerto Rico a state, rather than call for additional statehood referendums on the island or allow admission only after certain conditions were met, according to a spokeswoman for the congressman…..
image….A voter registration booth stands during an event to help Puerto Rico hurricane victims in Elizabeth, N.J., on April 14, 2018. (Julio Cortez/AP)