Luis Fortuno

That is morally wrong in the 21st century.

However, if we decide for change, there are only three viable options... One is statehood... independence... and then the third one is nationhood in free association with the United States.

I believe that the reason why we come here is because the 4 million U.S. citizens that I represent deserve a fair playing field to express their feelings as to their status, and only Congress can provide for that.

It's time to tear down that wall.

The right of the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico to decide their political future was one of my priorities.

It is time to tear down that wall. I urge the Committee to favorably consider H.R. 2499.

Congress has never formally consulted us about our preferences regarding the island's political status.

It clearly offends the values of American democracy in the 21st century.

The urgency over this matter is not only Puerto Rico's, but the Nation's.

Is this Nation not dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal?

Clearly, the framers of the Constitution did not intend some American citizens to be deprived of rights that other American citizens enjoy.

Asking makes all the difference in the world.

I want to commend both of you for your leadership in bringing forward the discussion of this fundamental issue of American democracy.

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

I want to thank, commend Resident Commissioner Pierluisi for his leadership in introducing this bill, thus bringing his 4 million strong constituency of disenfranchised American citizens one step closer to true self-determination.

I appear before you as Governor of Puerto Rico. As you know, I am also President of the New Progressive Party, which advocates statehood as a final solution for the island's more than a century old status issue.

It is time for Congress to provide the people of Puerto Rico with an unambiguous path toward permanently resolving its political status.

President Obama has also pledged to provide equal treatment to Puerto Rico under Medicare.

President Obama has promised 'to continually rais[e] the cap on federal contributions to Medicaid in Puerto Rico until it disappears.'

President Obama has pledged--most recently in a letter to Governor Luis Fortuno--to 'seek equal coverage of Puerto Rico' under these two programs.

In closing, I want to emphasize this point. By adding these Caribbean nations, Congress does not seek to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the experts at the State Department in determining how PEPFAR money will be allocated…