‘New Commonwealth’ Falls Flat Before U.S. Senate Panel By EVA LLORENS VELEZ U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden on Thursday rejected the idea of “new commonwealth” despite the insistence of Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla that it is a viable option under the U.S. Constitution. The committee convened a hearing to analyze the results of the Nov. 6, 2012 plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s political status as part of a process to analyze a federally mandated status vote. The committee did not evaluate specific legislation. Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon, said he expected different views on the results of the Nov. 6 vote and for the island Justice Department to ratify status options for a federally mandated plebiscite. “The ‘New Commonwealth’ option continues to be advocated as a viable option by some. It is not,” Wyden said. “Persistence in supporting this option after it has been rejected as inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution by the U.S. Justice Department, by the bipartisan leadership of this committee, by the House, and by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, undermines resolution of Puerto Rico’s status question.” In Wyden’s opinion, voters rejected the current territory status in the Nov. 6 status vote, leaving Puerto Rico with only two options: statehood under U.S. sovereignty, or some form of separate national sovereignty. “The federally sponsored vote should be simple and straightforward and reflect these two choices,” he said. For decades, the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) has advocated enhancing the self-governing powers of the current commonwealth status under the relationship with the United States. The new commonwealth allows for more self-governing powers, but will allow Puerto Ricans to keep their U.S. citizenship, the same U.S. currency and their own language. The problem is that some say that under the U.S. Constitution, the commonwealth cannot obtain additional powers and that its only route is to become a free associated state like the Marshall Islands or Palau, something that most Puerto Ricans do not support. Part of the problem in the committee’s unwillingness to accept a “new commonwealth” status option was that García Padilla was unable to provide a short and concise definition of enhanced commonwealth. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a ranking member of the committee and a Republican senator from Alaska, asked García Padilla to define enhanced commonwealth. “What does it mean? Because I am not sure I understand,” she said. García Padilla said the definition of enhanced commonwealth can be found in reports from the 1980s and 1990s. He then defined it as a compact that would alter the fundamental nature of commonwealth by providing increased autonomy to the island. “We can talk about those processes that have been studied by Congress and the commonwealth and which can not damage economic development or language,” he said. Murkowski asked whether it was consistent with the U.S. Constitution. “If our Department of Justice should determine enhanced commonwealth does not meet with definitions … you are going to have a plebiscite that is not going to be upheld,” she said. García Padilla said the U.S. Supreme Court has evaluated the issue and has found that it is constitutionally viable. “The Supreme Court says the degree of autonomy can be modified,” he said. Murkowski replied: “I would suggest there is still an issue of constitutionality there.” In response to another question, García Padilla said that under the “new commonwealth” option, federal laws will apply, but noted that it was something that could be negotiated with Congress. Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) President Rubén Berríos told the Senate panel no one has really been able to define the “new commonwealth.” “It is juridical hocus pocus,” he said. Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi also testified before the committee. At a news conference, García Padilla acknowledged that he did not provide an adequate definition, but noted that it was difficult to explain enhanced commonwealth in “a short amount of time.” Regarding what would happen with the supporters of sovereign commonwealth in the PDP, García Padilla said they were not a wing, but rather “feathers.” “Nonetheless, they are important and they are my friends,” he said. Rafael Cox Alomar, the PDP’s former candidate for resident commissioner, said it was a bad day for the enhanced commonwealth. He noted that the party did not do the work it had to do in Congress prior to the hearing. “It is obvious that we are at a different historical moment and the committee is not willing to deal with any modality of the commonwealth that is outside the territorial clause,” he said. PDP Sen. Antonio Fas Alzamora said the enhanced commonwealth requires numerous changes and that it is hard to explain. New Progressive Party (NPP) House Minority Leader Jenniffer González said earlier Thursday that if García Padilla were to discredit the results of status plebiscite before Congress “then he will have to recognize that his election was invalid because he received fewer votes than statehood did in the plebiscite that was held during the same electoral process.” The NPP lawmaker, a statehood advocate, said Congress has clearly indicated that before it weighs in on status change for Puerto Rico, the island needs to solve the status issue first. “Last November 6, we resolved it, and here we are calling for the results to be respected,” González added. “For years, we have been hearing that we need to resolve this at home and then take the matter before Congress, and that’s what we are doing. Now it’s their turn to look out for the people’s will, which mostly rejected the current status.” Star reporter Maria Miranda Sierra contributed to this report.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:59:23 +0000
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