In a statement today celebrating the 75th anniversary of Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s Declaration of Conscience, Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the highest-ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, promoted Puerto Rico statehood.
Citing the former Senator’s leadership against McCarthyism in the 1950s, Raskin explained that “Democracy is not just a static collection of rules and practices. It is an unfinished project in motion, a constant work in progress.”
He stated further: “It is time to get democracy back on the growth track. This means statehood admissions—not for Canada and Greenland or Panama, which are separate countries that have not sought admission, but Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, home to millions of disenfranchised U.S. citizens.”
This is not the first time that Congressman Raskin has spoken out publicly in favor of Puerto Rico statehood. In 2021, in a congressional debate over D.C. statehood, Raskin said that Puerto Rico should, like D.C., join the United States as a state.
Speaking of both D.C. and Puerto Rico, Raskin urged his congressional colleagues to “[l]et’s see if we can do it together. Let’s bring in millions of disenfranchised people in America.”
Previously, in 2017, Congressman Raskin said on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives: “Those are our people. Those are our citizens. Those are Americans in Puerto Rico. But why were they treated differently? Why was there this notorious negligence and lethargy in responding to the plight of people in Puerto Rico? Well, they have no voting representatives in this Chamber or in the United States Senate, so we have got millions of people unrepresented…”
Congressman Raskin has also made many other comments on social media about the need for Puerto Rico statehood, including:
- March 28, 2019: “Proud to stand w/ [Rep. Darren Soto, Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló & others in introducing statehood legislation for the +3 million Americans living in Puerto Rico. We’ve admitted 37 states since the Union formed & it’s time to expand democracy again for the ppl of PR & DC.” (Twitter)
- January 12, 2019: “Two million Americans in Puerto Rico need disaster assistance, broad-based education and economic development, and real political equality. I’m totally with Governor [Ricardo Rossello]’s call for statehood.” (Twitter)
- October 23, 2017: “We need bipartisan action to pass the GOP’s platform plank of Puerto Rican statehood to revive the island’s economy.” (Twitter)
Federal Officials Express Support for Puerto Rico Equality, Statehood
