Resident commissioner refiles status bill with 3 co-sponsors

U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón

By The Star Staff

U.S. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and Republican delegate Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa are cosponsoring the Puerto Rico Status Law bill (HR 2757).

The announcement was made by Thursday in a press release by Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón, who once again introduced the Puerto Rico Status Act in the current Congress in a bipartisan manner with HR 2757.

“Statehood continues to be my priority in Congress, and I will continue to strengthen support for the measure and, more importantly, for the cause of equality for Puerto Rico,” the resident commissioner said.

In 2022, González Colón led bipartisan negotiations with the Democratic majority leader of the House of Representatives at that time, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and a group of congressmen resulting in the filing of HR 8393, the Puerto Rico Status Act (PRSA).

HR 8393 was approved in a bipartisan vote in the House on Dec. 15, 2022, reflecting the feeling of the lower chamber that the current territorial status is not a viable option.

Huizenga voted in favor of the passage of HR 8393 in the last Congress and Radewagen co-authored HR 1522, another status bill.

Meanwhile, Lawler is a freshman member of Congress, and it is the first time he has supported this item on the resident commissioner’s legislative agenda.

“For me, it is an achievement that Congressman Lawler, who is in his first term in Congress, understood the importance of statehood for the 3.2 million American citizens who reside in Puerto Rico,” González Colón said. “I appreciate Mike’s support.”