HR 2070 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

Introduced Mar 18, 2021 Originated House Sponsor Nydia M. Velázquez D-NY

Latest action · Jun 16, 2021 Committee Hearings Held.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedMar 18, 2021
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

This bill establishes a process for the people of Puerto Rico to vote on the political status (e.g., statehood) of the territory. Congress may ratify the decision through a joint resolution.

The bill declares that the legislature of Puerto Rico has the authority to call a status convention regarding the political status of the territory.

The bill provides for public financing of delegate elections to the status convention and establishes a Congressional Bilateral Negotiating Commission to provide advice and consultation to delegates of the status convention.

The status convention must provide self-determination options for a referendum of the people of Puerto Rico. Ranked-choice voting is a permitted format for the referendum. Delegates shall carry out an educational campaign through traditional paid media related to the referendum.

The bill provides for congressional consideration of a joint resolution to ratify the self-determination option selected through the referendum.

Cosponsors 76

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 18, 2021 to Apr 13, 2021; 73 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Adam B. Schiff	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Adriano Espaillat	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Al Green	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NJ	Albio Sires	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NC	Alma S. Adams	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IN	André Carson	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MI	Andy Levin	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MD	Anthony G. Brown	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MA	Ayanna Pressley	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Barbara Lee	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MS	Bennie G. Thompson	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MN	Betty McCollum	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Bobby L. Rush	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Brian Higgins	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MO	Cori Bush	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Danny K. Davis	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-GA	David Scott	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NV	Dina Titus	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Doris O. Matsui	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-PA	Dwight Evans	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NC	G. K. Butterfield	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-VA	Gerald E. Connolly	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Grace Meng	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Gregory W. Meeks	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MN	Ilhan Omar	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	J. Luis Correa	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Jackie Speier	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CT	Jahana Hayes	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Jamaal Bowman	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MA	James P. McGovern	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Jared Huffman	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Jesús G. "Chuy" García	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Joaquin Castro	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CO	Joe Neguse	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Juan Vargas	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Karen Bass	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MD	Kweisi Mfume	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-DE	Lisa Blunt Rochester	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Lloyd Doggett	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Lucille Roybal-Allard	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Marc A. Veasey	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-OH	Marcy Kaptur	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Mark Takano	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-PA	Mary Gay Scanlon	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Maxine Waters	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-GU	Michael F. Q. San Nicolas	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Mike Quigley	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Mike Thompson	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Mondaire Jones	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Norma J. Torres	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-VT	Peter Welch	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-WA	Pramila Jayapal	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MI	Rashida Tlaib	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Raul Ruiz	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-MA	Richard E. Neal	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-CA	Ro Khanna	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-VA	Robert C. "Bobby" Scott	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-IL	Robin L. Kelly	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Sean Patrick Maloney	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-PA	Susan Wild	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Sylvia R. Garcia	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NM	Teresa Leger Fernandez	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-AL	Terri A. Sewell	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Thomas R. Suozzi	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-TX	Veronica Escobar	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Yvette D. Clarke	Original	Mar 18, 2021
D-NY	Joseph D. Morelle		Apr 12, 2021
D-IL	Marie Newman		Apr 12, 2021
D-CA	Katie Porter		Apr 13, 2021

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Natural Resources Committee	Referred Mar 18, 2021Hearings Apr 14, 2021Hearings Jun 16, 2021
House	Rules Committee	Referred Mar 18, 2021

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jun 16, 2021Committee Hearings Held.
Apr 14, 2021Committee Hearings Held.
Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
Mar 18, 2021Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 The Congress shall have Power to . . . provide for the . . . general Welfare of the United States; . . .

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 51, March 18, 2021, page H1584.

Printed hearings 3

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
Serial No. 117-24	MARKUP OF H.R. 6353, TO AUTHORIZE THE NATIONAL SERVICE ANIMALS MONUMENT CORPORATION TO ESTABLISH A COMMEMORATIVE WORK IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND ITS ENVIRONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, ``NATIONAL SERVICE ANIMALS MEMORIAL ACT''; H.R. 6438, TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO CONDUCT A SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY OF THE SITE KNOWN AS ``DEARFIELD'' IN THE STATE OF COLORADO, ``DEARFIELD STUDY ACT''; H.R. 6799, TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO CONDUCT A SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING THE JOHN P. PARKER HOUSE IN RIPLEY, OHIO, AS A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM, ``JOHN P. PARKER HOUSE STUDY ACT''; H.R. 7618, TO DESIGNATE THE KOL ISRAEL FOUNDATION HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL IN BEDFORD HEIGHTS, OHIO, AS A NATIONAL MEMORIAL; AND H.R. 8393, TO ENABLE THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO TO CHOOSE A PERMANENT, NONTERRITORIAL, FULLY SELF-GOVERNING POLITICAL STATUS FOR PUERTO RICO AND TO PROVIDE FOR A TRANSITION TO AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT495 pages	Natural Resources Committee	Jul 20, 2022
Serial No. 117-5	LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 1522, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADMISSION OF THE STATE OF PUERTO RICO INTO THE UNION, ``PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD ADMISSION ACT''; AND H.R. 2070, TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO TO CALL A STATUS CONVENTION THROUGH WHICH THE PEOPLE WOULD EXERCISE THEIR NATURAL RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, AND TO ESTABLISH A MECHANISM FOR CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF SUCH DECISION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, ``PUERTO RICO SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 2021''--PART 2138 pages	Natural Resources Committee	Jun 16, 2021
Serial No. 117-3	H.R. 1522, ``PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD ADMISSION ACT''; AND H.R. 2070, ``PUERTO RICO SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 2021''147 pages	Natural Resources Committee	Apr 14, 2021

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
R44721	Political Status of Puerto Rico: Brief Background and Recent Developments for Congress	Report	Jun 6, 2024

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 865	Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021	Identical bill	Mar 18, 2021

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To recognize the right of the People of Puerto Rico to call a status convention through which the people would exercise their natural right to self-determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced: Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.