Edolphus Towns: “I rise today to express my vehement opposition to H.R. 856, the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act, and to…”

“I rise today to express my vehement opposition to H.R. 856, the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act, and to the English-only language amendment offered by the gentleman from New York. At the outset, I want to extend my full support to my fellow colleagues, Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Jose Serrano (D-NY), in their efforts to ensure that the people of Puerto Rico have a ``voice'' in this process. As Congresswoman Velazquez stated earlier today, ``Why don't we let Puerto Rico decide what's best for Puerto Rico.'' For close to one hundred years, Puerto Rico has been a Commonwealth of the United States. Puerto Rican citizens have abided by the laws of the United States; they have participated in defending the United States in various wars; and even joined the military during peaceful times. Both English and Spanish are the official languages of Puerto Rico. They clearly are an integral part of our representative government. We should take extreme caution and listen to their concerns. Moreover, we should not, as some of our colleagues are trying to do, force them to abide by a stringent English-only language requirement. How can we force such an arbitrary requirement on the citizens of Puerto Rico when none exists for any of the 50 states? As the bridge to Latin America, already over 85% of Puerto Ricans are fluent in both English and Spanish.”