Latino Rebels Radio: August 25, 2019

With a generational shift against the status quo, a growing reluctance among Puerto Ricans to see their islands become part of an increasingly authoritarian nation, and now a battle between its two leading figures —Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Trump supporter— the ruling pro-statehood New Progressive Party’s days seem numbered.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of Congress hung in the balance Wednesday as Democrats showed surprising strength, defeating Republicans in a series of competitive races and defying expectations that high inflation and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings would drag the party down.

In Georgia’s race for governor, Latino voters prefer the Republican incumbent Brian Kemp, a white man, over Democratic challenger Stacy Abrams, a Black woman, according to a recent Futuro Media poll.

While dozens of immigrant relief bills, amendments, and proposals have been introduced during the current Congress, none are likely to pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, sources on Capitol Hill tell Latino Rebels.

The legislative clock is running out on the Puerto Rico Status Act, and according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), votes have yet to be counted due to what he says are “outside interests” delaying progress on the bill.

Rep. Grijalva, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, says the sudden increase in lobbying against the Puerto Rico Status Act is not about process but instead about maintaining the island’s current colonial status.

“I’ve never felt safe here,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Latino Rebels last week after being sexually harassed on the Capitol steps by a right-wing media figure. Speaker Pelosi tells Rebels that the House Sargeant at Arms is responsible for signing off on armed security details for members receiving death threats.

Twenty-nine amendments were debated by members of the House Natural Resources Committee who ultimately voted 20-25 to advance the bill, with every Republican voting against the bill except Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colón.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A recount in Texas affirmed Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar as the winner Tuesday of his primary race against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, who had trailed by fewer than 200 votes following a runoff in May.

Latino Rebels asked Senators this week if the upper chamber of Congress will implement a minimum salary, or “pay floor,” for Senate staffers.

The Texas primary runoff between Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and his progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, was too close to call Wednesday, more than a week after the election.

After a resolution to protect Hill staffers from retaliation for organizing a union in their offices had been adopted by the House on Tuesday night, a number of Congress members tell Latino Rebels they expect their offices to unionize.

On May 24, immigrant rights attorney and Laredo native Jessica Cisneros faces nine-term Congressman Henry Cuellar, the only anti-abortion Democrat in the House of Representatives, in a run-off election.

With anti-immigrant rhetoric bubbling over in the leadup to this year’s critical midterm elections, about one in three U.S. adults believes an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.

The Instagram account “Dear White Staffers” sent an updated whip count of House members who co-sponsored the PRO Act, a bill that would strengthen unions generally, but have not signed onto a resolution to empower unions in Congressional offices.

Less than a month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) told Latino Rebels that they support staffers looking to unionize their workplaces, a resolution has been introduced by Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) to formalize worker rights.

As Americans listen to the president’s address on Tuesday, they should remember that the current state of the union is undemocratic, and frankly disgraceful, so long as Puerto Rico remains a colony of the United States.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Momentum continues on Capitol Hill to unionize Congressional offices after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said last week that if staffers want to unionize, they would support their efforts.

The renegade Instagram account now boasts over 75,00 followers, nearly three times the following they had a week ago.

“We will no longer accept being a country that accepts our labor, but doesn’t accept our humanity and dignity,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in Spanish at an immigration rally on Monday. “We’re almost two years now into a pandemic where our country relies on undocumented people to survive.”