NEW YORK – Without making much noise, the Democratic representative of Arizona, Raúl Grijalva, was in Puerto Rico this week, during which he met with Governor Pedro Pierluisi, other political leaders and members of civil society to discuss not only the the reconstruction process on the island and the funds approved in Congress for renewable energy projects, as well as the project to resolve the status of the island presented for the second time in the legislative body to which it belongs.
Grijalva, a high-ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee that deals with matters related to Puerto Rico, spent about four days on the island with his team as part of the visit that ended on Thursday.
Until yesterday, the Democrat held meetings with members of the four political parties registered on the island, as well as community groups and civil rights organizations.
In the middle of his visit, Grijalva acknowledged that the Puerto Rico Status Bill presented again by the Democrats together with the resident commissioner in Washington, Jennifer González, has no chance of advancing in the House with a Republican majority.
The congressman declared in an interview with El Nuevo Día that he will have to wait for a new Congress dominated by Democrats to advance legislation such as 2757 that proposes a federal plebiscite on the island between the non-territorial options of statehood, independence and free association.
“The commitment to the status law continues. The job is now the Senate. Let’s hope Westerman (Bruce) and the Natural Resources Committee under his leadership at least have a hearing; follow the movement, because this is going to change in two years, and you have to be prepared at that point, not waste time and move quickly ”, he stated.
The Democrat said he is not open to changes proposed by Republicans to the piece of legislation.
“We already have a deal. We don’t want to change it. If there is an initiative from the Republicans who want to change the content of that deal, I cannot support that, ”he added.
The representative could not explain the reasons why only six Republicans in the House favor 2757.
“This is going to depend on the Democrats in the Senate to follow the movement, and in two years, the majority again, then move,” he simply added.
Grijalva is the one who leads in this session the presentation of the measure that in the past was identified as HR 8393. The project was approved last December shortly before the closing of the session with the votes of the Democrats who at that time were the majority in the legislative body.
Before the measure was approved, Grijalva traveled with fellow Democrats Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (both from New York) to a public forum on the island where various papers were presented for and against the measure. project. During that visit, the congressmen also met with representatives of the different parties on the island.
Since then, sectors of the diaspora have called for public hearings and amendments to the measure, particularly on the scope of statehood in case of prevailing in a consultation, this as minimum requirements to favor a project of this type.
Custom reservations don’t just come from Puerto Ricans abroad.
During the meeting that Grijalva held with the president of the Popular Democratic Party, Jesús Manuel Ortiz, he stated that the community does not support the congressional initiative, since it excludes the territorial commonwealth.
Ortiz told the congressman that the Party he represents is going to defend the inclusion of the Commonwealth (ELA) and the possibilities of developing that form of government.
Ortiz even sent Grijalva a letter asking for that alternative to be included in any status legislation for the island. “We firmly believe that any exercise of self-determination must be inclusive and democratic, and therefore include the Commonwealth as an option. But, despite how important this issue is, I think we should also focus on more pressing issues such as infrastructure, health, and energy, among others,” Ortiz states in the letter cited by the aforementioned newspaper.
The only decolonizing options for a change of status on the island are those contained in federal legislation. Under the Commonwealth, Congress retains plenary powers over Puerto Rico under the territorial clause of the US Constitution.
During his time on the island, Grijalva also met with civil rights and community groups such as Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, the ACLU, Waves Ahead, and the Center for Popular Democracy.
Part of the discussion focused on the challenges of disbursing funds for renewable energy on the island in order to develop a resilient and effective system.
In his Twitter account, the politician highlighted how the constant blackouts affect residents with disabilities in PR As part of the exchange, the leaders insisted on the request to lead the allocation and disbursement process of the $1 billion approved last December in the Congress for the installation of solar panels and batteries in homes for disabled or low-income people.
The money allocation is contained in the $1.7 trillion omnibus budget bill to keep the federal government running until September of this year.
At the moment, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) is working to streamline the processes regarding the distribution of money. The agency has planned to launch the Request for Proposals (RFP) this summer.
The first round of grant funding from the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF) is expected to be announced in the fall.
Apart from the issue of status, the reconstruction of the electrical network and the promotion of renewable energy projects, the meetings addressed the issue of the PROMESA law and the time that the Fiscal Control Board will remain in the territory.
Legislative efforts in the lower house to advance the departure of the body not elected by Puerto Ricans that manages the island’s finances by virtue of the aforementioned law approved in 2016 have been unsuccessful at the moment.
Last year, Grijalva co-sponsored the “TRUST for Puerto Rico Act of 2022” (HR 7409), a bill introduced by New York Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres for the withdrawal of the Board no later than 90 days after the certification of two balanced budgets. From that moment on, the duties and responsibilities of the federal entity would be transferred to the Government of Puerto Rico. However, the measure died in the last session and in this one it has not been presented again.
Keep reading:
Secretary of State of Puerto Rico: “The Board has the last word” on debt restructuring on the island
House of Representatives in Washington approves historic plebiscite for Puerto Rico that excludes the territorial Commonwealth despite rejection by diaspora groups
Puerto Rican diaspora groups send letter to congressional committee leaders to request public hearings on draft status 8393