Dávila Pernas chides resident commissioner for lack of legislation

PDP says Hernández Rivera has a plan, urges Democratic Party chief in PR to refrain from politicking

Popular Democratic Party Secretary General Manuel Calderón Cerame

By The Star Staff

Luis Dávila Pernas, the president of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico, said Sunday that Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera has not presented a single legislative measure in Congress during his first 35 days in office.

“Despite the multiple promises he made during his campaign, Hernández has practically abandoned his legislative duties by failing to propose any measures in Congress,” Dávila Pernas said at a news conference at New Progressive Party headquarters. “He has not addressed the critical situation that Puerto Rico faces regarding the Medicare program. It is alarming that in this time, the resident commissioner has devoted more effort to planning his political campaign to lead the defeated Popular [Democratic] Party than to fulfilling his responsibilities to the people.”

A short while later, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary General Manuel Calderón Cerame responded to Dávila Pernas’ comments, saying they constitute a lie.

“The president of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico has chosen to attack the highest-ranking elected Democrat in Puerto Rico today, clearly motivated by a premature candidacy,” Calderón Cerame said. “If Luis Dávila wanted to dictate when and how the resident commissioner would present legislation, he should have run against him in the last elections. Jenniffer González entered Congress with a Republican majority and presented bills on her first day; however, due to her lack of preparation, those bills never received a public hearing. It is the same lack of planning that continues to render the Puerto Rican government inoperative.”

“Pablo José will not repeat that mistake,” the PDP secretary general added. “He has a work plan and has been in communication with both Democrats and Republicans to introduce the bills he promised at the appropriate time, with as much support as possible. Pablo José’s work in Congress has been impressive, from condemning the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro [of Venezuela] on the floor of the federal House to alerting the immigrant community in Puerto Rico about [President] Trump’s policies. He has also presented legislation and amendments alongside Democratic and Republican congressmen on issues of reconstruction, economic development, and security.”

The following are some examples of the resident commissioner’s work:

• HR 1101: To prohibit illegal access to the payment system of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service within the Treasury Department.

• HR 596: To require a study on the consolidation of certain grant programs currently available for island regions and the feasibility of such consolidation for Puerto Rico.

• HR 380: To require fair shipping prices for areas outside the continental United States.

• HR 153: Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act.

• HR 152: Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act.

• Amendments to H.R. 27: “HALT Fentanyl Act” to address the fentanyl addiction crisis in Puerto Rico.

“My appeal to the president of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico is to focus on working collaboratively, without electoral motivations, for the agenda that unites us,” Calderón Cerame said. “As Democrats, we must stand together against President Trump’s policies. There will be time for partisan politics in 2028.”