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On the Issues

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, for far too long, has been left behind. The island has been hit with crisis after crisis: crippling debt, Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Irma, and a series of earthquakes. Like Native Americans and African-Americans, women and LGBTQ+ individuals, Puerto Ricans should be seen as part of the same overarching struggle for equality — in a nation whose greatest vice is the perennial failure to practice the virtue it preaches. Ritchie is proud to be one of five Boricuas in Congress, and he looks forward to continuing his fight for Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C.

As Americans, we must speak out forcefully against the de jure disenfranchisement of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico, for it represents a deep rot at the very core of American democracy, not to mention a manifestation of the very systemic racism against which millions have stood in protest.

Daily News Oped, “Puerto Rico not for sale: Statehood can bring more equality to the island”

Puerto Rican Growth & Equity

Supporting Puerto Rico’s economic growth is one of Ritchie’s top priorities in Congress. Ritchie will fight for equity in health programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare; exempting Puerto Rico from federal cabotage regulations; and fully extending the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit to those living on the island. As American citizens, Puerto Ricans deserve equal treatment under our country’s laws and equal access to benefits and the social safety net.

How can the United States claim to be fully democratic when it openly denies equal representation to 3 million people who are citizens according to its own laws, and when it subverts the popularly elected government of Puerto Rico in favor of a Financial Control Board that is neither accountable to nor representative of the people themselves? There are two alternatives to the status quo of colonialism: independence and statehood. I am squarely on the side of statehood.

Daily News Oped, “Puerto Rico not for sale: Statehood can bring more equality to the island”

Repeal PROMESA

Congress must acknowledge and address its failures to solve Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. PROMESA, which establishes the Financial Control Board, represents an unprecedented assault on the self-governance of Puerto Rico. Ritchie believes we need to repeal PROMESA, abolish the Financial Control Board, and implement a public debt restructuring mechanism that puts the people of Puerto Rico first.

Issue 3: Ultimately, Ritchie believes statehood is the best answer to the issues Puerto Rico faces. Voters in Puerto Rico made their voices heard in the recent election and voted in favor of statehood. Now, Congress has an obligation to act upon what the people voted for. That’s democracy, that’s decolonization, that’s self-determination. Ritchie will support straightforward statehood legislation to transition federal laws that treat Puerto Rico unequally to ensuring that the Puerto Ricans living on the islands have the same rights as Americans living in the 50 states. This legislation must also provide Puerto Rican seats in the U.S. House of Representative and Senate, and the right to vote for the President of the United States.

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