HM 1165 2003
1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the President and the Congress of the United
3	States, urging the President and Congress to permit the
4	United States citizens living in Puerto Rico to determine
5	Puerto Rico’s future political status.
6
7	WHEREAS, on December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was
8	signed by the United States and later ratified by the United
9	States on February 6, 1899, formally concluding the Spanish-
10	American War and establishing Puerto Rico as a territory of the
11	United States, and
12	WHEREAS, on March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed
13	the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act, popularly known as the
14	Jones Act, which extended United States citizenship to the
15	residents of Puerto Rico, but did not provide them with voting
16	representation in the United States Congress or give them the
17	right to vote for the President of the United States, and
18	WHEREAS, since 1917, 200,000 United States citizens in
19	Puerto Rico have served valiantly in every war and armed
20	conflict in which our nation has fought in defense of democratic
21	principles and self-determination, and
22	WHEREAS, four heroic Puerto Ricans, Hector Santiago-Colon,
23	Euripides Rubio, Carlos James Lozada, and Luis Fernando Garcia,
24	have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their
25	valor in defending American democracy and freedoms, and
26	WHEREAS, we recognize the many social, economic, and
27	political contributions that the 3.8 million United States
28	citizens residing in Puerto Rico make to preserve and enhance
29	this nation's democratic values, and
30	WHEREAS, the State of Florida has a significant Puerto
31	Rican community and an ever-increasing Hispanic population from
32	which many of our state's business, cultural, and political
33	leaders are drawn, and
34	WHEREAS, Florida's great history, including the ascension
35	to statehood, is intertwined with our state's Hispanic heritage,
36	and
37	WHEREAS, in 1997 the Legislature of Puerto Rico formally
38	petitioned the United States Congress to respond to the
39	democratic aspirations of the United States citizens of Puerto
40	Rico by means of a federally sanctioned plebiscite to be held no
41	later than 1998 and Congress has not yet responded to this
42	petition, and
43	WHEREAS, as we begin a new millennium, we recognize that
44	the time has come for Puerto Rico to exercise its right to self-
45	determination regarding its desire to attain full self-
46	government within the context of a congressionally authorized
47	plebiscite, and
48	WHEREAS, the Florida House of Representatives urges all
49	Floridians and the citizens of the United States to support the
50	enactment of a federal law leading to full self-government for
51	Puerto Rico, NOW, THEREFORE,
52
53	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
54
55	That the Legislature of the State of Florida requests that
56	Congress enact and the President of the United States sign
57	legislation that would define the political status options
58	available to the United States citizens of Puerto Rico and
59	authorize a plebiscite to provide an opportunity for Puerto
60	Ricans to make an informed decision regarding the island's
61	future political status.
62	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of
63	Florida requests the Florida congressional delegation to
64	actively promote and support timely action on this important
65	national issue.
66	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
67	dispatched to the President of the United States, the President
68	of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States
69	House of Representatives, and to each member of the Florida
70	delegation to the United States Congress.