Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi (D) is hopeful that a House delegation due this weekend on the island will return to Washington, D.C., ready to quickly move on a bill to update the U.S. territory’s status, The Hill reported. The delegation, led by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), will be in Puerto Rico to get feedback on a proposed bill introduced last month that would allow Puerto Ricans to vote between becoming a state, an independent nation or an independent nation with a treaty of free association with the U.S. Pierluisi, who favors statehood as an alternative to the current territorial status, said he believes all options in the proposed bill are democratic, unlike the current status. “The three options that are given to the public or the people, the residents of Puerto Rico, the American citizens of Puerto Rico, are fully democratic — I have to admit that — the three of them,” Pierluisi told The Hill. “I much prefer statehood than the others. I think that’s actually the logical next step for Puerto Rico, but I respect the other two and people should be able to vote for them as well.”
