I am here to support H.R. 2499 because we, your fellow citizens, also have the right to choose our destiny.

We are American citizens, but we cannot vote for our nation's President and do not have a voting representation in this Congress.

We want something to happen, and the first step to make that decision will reside in the people of Puerto Rico.

The basic question before voters whether they still consent to live in a territory.

I think the option is not a constitutional assembly. To write what constitution?

We want to continue the status quo, we want to continue in the commonwealth, or we want to move to another option.

There is a quote from Lyndon Johnson that said that voting is the first duty of democracy.

Do we need consensus to grant civil rights? Do we need consensus to grant a vote? Do we need consensus to enable democracy? Of course not.

I also reject the claim of lack of consensus because some use it to further delay a right to vote.

Opponents allege that the bill is not fair and that it leans the vote against the current relationship. Of course, that is not true.

We think the time has come for this to change.

I want to convey my gratitude to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and to Congressmen Dan Burton, Patrick Kennedy, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Alan Grayson, all of whom have been such strong champions of H.R. 2499.

I agree with now-President Obama. This bill, 2499, doesn't deal with either issue, either citizenship or a transfer of Puerto Rico to a foreign nation.

In our democracy, elections have consequences. Last November, the people of Puerto Rico, by historic margins, spoke clearly in favor of self-determination and against those who would obstruct it.

The bill says, sovereignty in association with the United States.

I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to Chairman Rahall. Both of us believe that after 111 years, it is imperative that the 111th Congress finally ask the people of Puerto Rico for their views on the island's future.

It's time to tear down that wall.

the reasons to support this bill are so self-evident they should not have to be argued.