House Chamber, Washington D.C.
April 29, 2010

Mr. Speaker:

 Proponents have a problem.  They want statehood for Puerto Rico.  But in 1998, the majority voted no.

 What to do?

 Replace a straight-forward up or down vote with a two-step process.

 If 40 percent support the Commonwealth, and 20 percent favor each of three alternatives, the overwhelming plurality is defeated on the first ballot and left only to chose among three options they do not support.

 Then stuff the ballot box by letting non-Puerto Ricans vote as long as they were born there.  That means as a Californian, I should be entitled to vote in New York’s elections because I was born there. 

 This bill isn’t needed for a referendum: Puerto Rico can do that on its own.  The purpose of this bill is to place a Congressional imprimatur on this rigged election that has no legal effect, no moral validity, and that promises only to set off bitter divisions within the Puerto Rican Commonwealth.