Political Quotes

“I stand in support of the substitute and in opposition to the Solomon amendment. We are making a language issue out of a self-determination issue. People understand that the use of English in Puerto Rico is something that is essential to understand here. But there is no one that I know of that does not want to learn English to fully function in American society. There are very few people in Puerto Rico that I know of who do not want to learn English. In fact, in Puerto Rico there is a clear educational policy which fosters English, and indeed, English can be used for official purposes. If Puerto Ricans choose statehood under this framework, those policies would be strengthened. But what is not acceptable is to allow Puerto Ricans the right to self-determination and in the same process to decide in advance of their choice that they not be treated the same way as other States. The Solomon amendment tries to use the language issue to deliver a blow to the possibility of Puerto Rican statehood by putting a restriction on their possible admission, which other States have not had in their history.”