Raúl M. Grijalva (Public Domain)
The two bills to hopefully (finally?) end and resolve Puerto Rico’s colonial relationship will get a congressional hearing on April 14, according to a Monday media release from the Natural Resources Committee.
In that release, committee chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that “he will lead a full Natural Resources Committee hearing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on April 14 to consider two different pieces of legislation —H.R. 1522 by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and H.R. 2070 by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.)— to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status, an issue on which Grijalva said the Puerto Rican people deserve ‘clarity and closure,'” the release said.
“Legislative approaches that have gathered popular support will receive a fair hearing and due consideration in this Committee, and I will not put my thumb on the scale,” Grijalva said in the media release. “I look forward to hearing about both bills to come to an equitable, and hopefully final, federal agreement on a process to resolve the island’s ultimate political status.”
A tweet by the Natural Resources Committee about the hearing said that Grijalva “will not put his thumb on the scale” about which bill he will support, raising speculation that a compromise bill might come out of this hearing.
On April 14 we'll hold a hearing to discuss two legislative approaches to #PuertoRico political status.
Led by Chair @RepRaulGrijalva, the Committee will consider H.R. 1522 by @RepDarrenSoto and H.R. 2070 by @NydiaVelazquez.
Chair Grijalva will not put his thumb on the scale.
— Natural Resources Committee (@NRDems) March 29, 2021
The release added that more details about the hearing will be made available soon, along with a full list of hearing witnesses and live streaming links.
In the last few years, Grijalva has visited Puerto Rico, including one visit in 2019 where at times he was clearly reminded about Puerto Rico’s colonial status:
In 2019, the Arizona Democrat also spoke to Latino Rebels about Puerto Rico and the issues it is facing in a post-Maria world.
