Nydia Velázquez

This is not an election for president. It is not an election of a Member of Congress. This is an election about decolonization--123 years of imperialism by the United States.

Congress will create a commission. I seriously believe that under Section 7, Joint Resolution, that outlines the serious and structured process for both chambers of Congress to act upon the results of the referendum that might be a…

In the past, proponents of statehood have sold a bill to the people of Puerto Rico saying that they will maintain participation in the U.S. Olympics or Miss Universe, and that that will not change if Puerto Rico becomes a state, things…

The myth of non-territorial commonwealth has long prevented Puerto Ricans from reckoning with the constitutional reality that the only alternatives to being a territory are statehood and independence.

If there were a compact, Congress would no longer have the power to modify Puerto Rico's government unilaterally.

I strongly oppose statehood for Puerto Rico, a position shared by the members of the Frente.

Yet it deprives them of an offer of statehood, which they have never had, they just asked for, and only Congress can deliver.

Puerto Ricans do not need a congressional invitation to debate these options, and they can keep right on debating them even after Congress offers statehood.

As we did after the 2020 election all across the country, Democrats respect democratic election results and should respect Puerto Rico's decision on how to exercise its own self-determination.

Congresswoman Velazquez who is the main sponsor of the other bill which I will soon discuss came to Puerto Rico and urged voters to reject statehood.

By doing so, they seem to adopt the same reasoning used by racist and xenophobic Justices of the Supreme Court in the early 20th century that decided the infamous Insular Cases.

It would be cruel to have our people, the constituents I represent, go through years of endless debates and back and forth engagements with Congress, only to be left out in the end with no response to their clear intention to move toward…

However proponents of this alternative approach to label it, anything short of statehood is colonial and unequal.

Any such process needs to be fair, inclusive, and democratic.

The present political status should change.

The conversation should not be about a process. It should be about a process that respects the will of the people.

A Representative in Congress from the State of New York.

There are real, harmful consequences from disinvesting in public housing.

We are losing 10,000 to 15,000 units a year to obsolescence or delay.

$70 billion is necessary to repair our public housing infrastructure.

While President Biden's plan calls for an investment of $40 billion for public housing, my bill, like the chairwoman's, calls for an investment of $70 billion.

While I said at the time, and continue to understand that short selling has legitimate purposes, I also said that too often, I have seen the strategy used against working individuals and families, first, against Puerto Rico, and now here…

I want to extend my congratulations and thankfulness to her for her help and willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion on that issue.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Reclaman priorizar la energia renovable en Puerto Rico