Only statehood provides that equal participation, guarantees U.S. citizenship, and represents a permanent and constitutional solution for Puerto Rico's status issue.

H.R. 2070, ironically called the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, is the farthest thing from self-determination. It is the epitome of colonialism.

The Puerto Rican people have made a clear, democratic choice for statehood, and there can be no doubt about where the American citizens of Puerto Rico stand.

When the people speak, the proper role of Congress is to listen.

Members must choose to either be for democracy and support statehood now or for Jim Crow colonialism.

My family's native island of Puerto Rico has been through so much hardship over the last few years...

The perpetuation of the colony is a Jim Crow era legacy that subjugates US residents of the island.

Those who did not like the people's choice in the November plebiscite... now choose to ignore the results, change the process, and change the questions--anything to avoid accepting the will of the people.

Governments change. Leaders change. And political statuses change. That is the essence of our Republic.

This bill does not force or impose statehood on Puerto Rico. It only offers statehood and provides a proven mechanism and a legal means for it to happen.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

This is a historic opportunity for the people of Puerto Rico, a moment to finally chart their own course.

I believe that the best path forward to resolve questions of Puerto Rico's political status is statehood, but that is a decision that must be left to Puerto Ricans themselves.

And this is why I filed the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, along with Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon and many others...

I strongly urge the Members of this Committee to reject this approach.

The people of Puerto Rico deserve the opportunity to chart their own future, and in my view, the people of Puerto Rico have told us time and time again, through multiple plebiscites in recent years, that they choose statehood.

There can never be consensus for second-class citizenship--the majority rules in our democratic system.

We demand that you start treating us as equals and stop treating us as property.

True self-determination means that the people on the island have a right to decide not only what to decide, but how to decide.

I just wanted to express my appreciation to both you and to the Committee on working on the Oak Flat issue.

We need to support--and I am pleased that we are extending this EPA program in this bill.

The bill improves our workforce capacity, expands laboratory systems and health information systems.

We need to make sure all Americans have access to internet.

President Biden ran on the promise to build back better, and he won.

The LIFT Act will finally lift America's infrastructure into the 21st century.