All Quotes

I commend you on your demeanor and responsiveness at this hearing up to now.

The current state of affairs on Culebra is a disaster waiting to happen because the parcel contains popular beaches, pedestrian walkways, and campgrounds

Congressional action is needed to address a significant threat to public safety on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico

I would like your commitment, Madam Secretary, to work on advancing the dialog inside the Department.

I urge the Department to continue budgeting resources for the national network of LCCs.

I encourage both of you to visit Puerto Rico as soon as possible.

Discussion of status is a way to ignore and to keep ignoring the real issue: denial of voting rights, denial of participating in our nation's democratic process and denial of economic equality and opportunities for Hispanic Americans in…

The Puerto Rican electorate served notice last November that they do not wish to continue being governed in the way and through the institutions and laws that, by their own accord, govern them currently.

As American citizens we in Puerto Rico are entitled to equal rights, privileges and benefits as well as equal duties and obligations as all other American citizens and as American citizens we are entitled to the right to vote for our…

Simply put, statehood, for American citizens, is the American way.

Congress has unintentionally enabled a minority in Puerto Rico to confuse and frustrate a local decision among Puerto Rico's status options.

The plebiscite and some presidential and congressional actions since have made important strides towards resolution of the issue.

We are proud American citizens. If you poll in Puerto Rico whether people want to continue having their American citizenship, it's going to be like 80 or 90 percent again.

By definition when you pose a question that's a yes or no question you're not excluding anybody...

It's about time you start speaking frankly to the Puerto Rican people.

I'm not pro-statehood that will make Puerto Rico a Latino ghetto.

The bill provides that the President shall submit an admission bill admitting Puerto Rico as a State within the period of 180 days.

In the 21st century, in the most democratic nation on earth, this is astonishing.