The HR 2499 bill is at a very crucial point in history as the U.S house is all set to vote on the bill which will make some significant changes to the status of the island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a part of America for a staggering one hundred and seventeen years now and the residents of the islands have been citizens of America since the annum of 1917 but still they are not given any proper representation in the functioning of the US government which is the crux of the HR 2499 which is aimed at seeking a status for the island.
Under the bill the island will be given the chance to hold a plebiscite to determine what status the island wants to take up, whether it will be independence, statehood or National Sovereignty in association with the United States of America. This means that after the bill is passed the roughly four million residents of the island will be given a chance to state – through a vote – which status they want for the island and once the vote is made and the status is chosen from one of the three above then the congress will take another sitting to consider what the next steps to take will be.
The HR 2499 was composed by some 180 bipartisan members of the congress and was aimed to give Puerto Rico at least some form of representation in the government as currently it doesn’t have a single member of the senate, congress or House of Representatives though they do have a non-voting representative at the house of representatives which amounts to nothing since the rep cannot vote for the island.
HR 2499
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