United States President Joe Biden supports the calling of a new referendum as a mechanism to determine Puerto Rico’s political status, the president’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki said today.
“The president is in favor of a referendum for Puerto Rico and it is the Puerto Ricans who decide the way forward,” Psaki said at a conference at the White House today when asked if the president is the state for Puerto Rico and Washington, DC supports.
In contrast, for Washington DC, Psaki said the president supports the state for the federal capital, but did not offer when he could be incorporated. “The president has by far supported DC’s status. But I don’t have a deadline or plan, but he continues to support it,” added Psaki.
Psaki, for his part, also indicated that Biden’s government continues to support Puerto Ricans to access Supplementary Social Security (SSI). However, the press spokeswoman did not give the reasons why the Biden administration did not stop appealing the first circuit decision to the federal supreme court. The Boston First Circuit ruling affirmed that residents of Puerto Rico can receive the benefit of SSI.
“We are working with Congress to address federal equality programs for Puerto Ricans in two critical areas. First, in the ‘American Rescue Plan’. [paquete de estímulo económico por el COVID-19], where Puerto Ricans would have equivalent credit to minors [Child Tax Credit] and in the credit for earned income [Earned Income Tax Credit], which are essential for reducing poverty on the island, ”said Psaki.
“In addition, we support legislation to ensure that residents of Puerto Rico have access to Social Security benefits and we will work with Congress on that … They are separate issues, so the Federal Justice Department could speak more effectively than we can on the matter. in the Supreme Court, ”he said.
Psaki’s statements come just a day after Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González – along with Congressman of Puerto Rican descent Darren Soto – introduced a bill yesterday that aims to admit Puerto Rico as a state of the Union.
González and Soto yesterday stressed that the measure has bipartisan support in Congress. Among the federal lawmakers in attendance was the congressman Don Young, an Alaska Republican who has long supported a state for Puerto Rico, his coreligionist Maria Elvira Salazar, from Florida, and Stephanie Murphy, Democratic representative for that same state.
Watch the press conference here. At minute 43:14 the question about the state of Puerto Rico arises. While at minute 49:35 the question about supplementary social security: