Pedro Pierluisi strives for the times of political polarization to end with Joe Biden’s presidency

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Washington DC– The Puerto Rican authorities today look with renewed optimism at the change of government in the United States.

In a statement, Governor Pedro Pierluisi – who attended the ceremony – indicated that Joe Biden’s swearing-in as president and Kamala Harris as vice president “Represents the end of polarization times.” “My presence should remind the entire US administration that we deserve dignified treatment as US citizens,” he said.

Washington resident commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez, for her part, said that in the midst of the pandemic and after the uprising against Congress, a message of unity like President Biden’s was important.

“I saw a message of unity, of a vision of respect, but with the will to work in harmony. A message of healing and the search for consensus, very appropriate for the moment we liveHe said, and he also highlighted the presence of Republicans such as former President George W. Bush, that party’s leaders in the Senate, Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), and the House, Kevin McCarthy (California) and former speaker Paul Ryan.

González also found it extraordinary that there is a female vice president, with Kamala Harris assuming the second position in the United States government, and that two Puerto Ricans, the Supreme Court magistrate, Sonia Sotomayor, and the artist Jennifer López were protagonists of the inauguration. Sotomayor took Harris’s oath.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s President of the House of Representatives Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez, foresees some harmony between the island’s legislatures and Governor Pierluisi, who are Democrats, with the White House. Hernández Montañez was co-chair of Biden’s electoral committee on the island.

“If 50% of Joe Biden’s pledges are kept, we are talking about radical changes,” the chamber president said, referring to issues such as softening the pledge act, accessing the island to the program for additional income security (SSI) and a binding status process with representation from all parties.

Governor Pierluisi, Hernández Montañez and Commissioner González have argued for Biden to begin his tenure by withdrawing the challenge the Donald Trump administration has made against the decision of the First Circuit of Federal Appeals, which opens the door to residents of Puerto Rico to access the SSI. González said he will be sending Biden a letter today to make that claim.

Letter to Biden

Commissioner González sent a letter to President Biden today requesting that the appeal filed by the Trump administration before the United States Supreme Court in the Vaello Madero case be immediately withdrawn to prevent residents of Puerto Rico from accessing SSI . “Of all the inequalities facing ‘Americans’ in the areas, none is more shocking than the aid available to the most vulnerable civilians,” González said.

SSI can have an impact of nearly $ 1.8 billion in helping low-income seniors and adults and minors with disabilities.

Hernández Montañez – who traveled to Washington DC for the occasion – in turn spoke out for Biden’s pledge to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, although he urged the island’s leadership to help traders through of financing and reforms in the licensing area.

Puerto Rican Democratic congressmen also expressed satisfaction with the new administration and the end of Donald Trump’s four-year term.

“There is so much to do. Let’s celebrate today and get to work”, Nydia Velázquez (New York) pointed out when she tweeted a summary of President Biden’s immediate agenda, such as the reform of immigration laws, the extension of the moratorium on evictions, the payment of student loans and the use of masks on federal ownership and return to the United States to the World Health Organization.

Velázquez was on the main balcony near the Chief Judge Sotomayor.

Congressman Ritchie Torres (New York) – before the rise of white supremacist groups, as acknowledged by President Biden – also stressed the importance of the change of government, but told the NY1 station that “I am concerned that we will be using in American politics. “

“We are entering a new era in our nation’s history. The fact that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are taking the oath of office is an important reminder that there is hope on the way to the White House, ”said Darren Soto, Florida.

Congressman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez also called for “creating justice, healing our planet and improving conditions for all people”.

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