Luis Gutiérrez

Absolutely not. Let's remember something. This was not part of the campaign in November.

It is legal fiction which assumes that the people of Puerto Rico somehow will exercise their sovereignty and choose whatever path they choose, when, in fact, that sovereignty does not lie there.

It would be a shame if this Congress were to end without heeding the voice of the people.

We Puerto Ricans are not victims; we have borne the price of freedom in every war from World War One to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To pretend to continue a fruitless and pointless discussion by including independence or free association in a self-determination process, is a mockery of the democratic vote of Puerto Ricans.

There can be no freedom without popular sovereignty; in America the people govern.

Statehood means complete protection of the U.S. Constitution to more than 3 million Americans.

This must also be taken together with the fact that Puerto Ricans have never favored independence.

Puerto Ricans are American citizens; and citizenship in America is supposed to be only one.

With lesser margins: laws are passed, judicial and executive appointments are confirmed and politicians, including presidents, are elected.

In the 8 that lost, YES to Statehood still got more votes than the candidate who was elected.

Do not be deceived by the fact that only because we speak Spanish and we enjoy the freedoms of this United States, that the majority will immediately choose to be one way or the other; democrat or republican.

United we stand, and divided we fall.

We have suffered enough.

We have held a more than one referendum in which the majority of the people have voted, unequivocally for statehood.

I ask you, what more does it take to make the will of my people be Heard?

This bill is the only one that takes into consideration the expression of the people of Puerto Rico.

We demand change, and we demand statehood!

53% is the absolute majority of the electorate; that with lesser margins laws are passed.

H.R. 1522 is the bill that respects the will of Americans who voted for statehood.

What got me into politics was the fight for the independence of Puerto Rico.

They got a whopping 97 percent. They did so good that they had to do a repeat 4 years later because no one thought--because not even Putin gets 97 percent of the vote.

I denounced on the House floor the homophobic and transphobic slurs and policies of Thomas Rivera Schatz.

The people in Puerto Rico didn't take that referendum seriously.

Nydia Velazquez's bill is based on the pillar of what? Respecting other people's opinion and bringing about consensus.