U.S. POLICY ON PUERTO RICO

For over 100 years, Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United

States. Though Puerto Ricans are US citizens from birth, they do not have the full and equal rights of other citizens while on the Island since Puerto Rico does not vote for US President, does not have any Senate representation, and is only represented in

the House by a non-voting delegate elected every four years. As a result of this status, the more than 3 million residents of Puerto Rico have established their own separate party system based on either changing or maintaining the status, or seeking independence,

with both Democrats and Republicans represented across this unique partisan structure.

Additionally, because of Puerto Rico’s status, people on the Island face a number of inequities, especially in regards to government benefits. Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP benefits (called NAP on the Island), Social Security, and other government benefits are reimbursed at lower amounts on the Island compared to the mainland. Additionally, without Senators or voting Representatives, Puerto Rico must rely on allies in Washington to advocate for its future. This is a major problem whenever natural disasters strike, such as the catastrophic Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the period in 2019 and 2020 when the Island was hit with more than 9,000 earthquakes in the span of a single year.

BoricuActivatEd is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization working to lift the voices of the Puerto Rican community on the Island and across the United States to ensure that the concerns of Puerto Ricans are heard and that the federal government will address the many issues affecting the territory.

For more information, check out the National Puerto Rican agenda and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.

Information pulled from CRS reports and Biden-Harris Fact-Sheet:

  • https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43357
  • https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10965/1
  • https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R44721.pdf
  • https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-steadfast-in-support-of-puerto-ricos-renewal/
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