property in Puerto Rico shall submit to the President and the Congress a report specifying the property which it owns or controls and describing the need and essential public purpose, if any, served thereby. (d) The President of the United States may, from time to time, accept from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico any lands, buildings or other interests or property which may be needed for public purposes of the United States. "ARTICLE VIII "The harbor areas, navigable streams, bodies of water and submerged lands in and around Puerto Rico, which are now under the control of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, are hereby transferred to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico: Provided, however, That the use, occupancy and control of said harbor areas, waters and submerged lands by the United States or any Department or agency thereof shall not be impaired, and that the laws of the United States for the protection and improvement of the navigable waters and for the preservation of the interests of navigation and commerce shall continue to apply to Puerto Rico; and, Provided, further, That nothing contained in this Act shall be construed so as to affect or impair in any manner the terms or conditions or any authorizations, permits or other powers heretofore lawfully transferred or exercised in or in respect of said harbor areas, waters and submerged lands by authorized officials of the United States. "ARTICLE IX "(a) Except as otherwise provided in Articles III and IV hereof, the Federal Government shall have and may exercise the same powers in respect of Puerto Rico that it has in respect of the several States of the Union, and any law applicable to Puerto Rico, enacted in the exercise of said powers, shall have full force and effect without the necessity of concurrence or consent by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Any law respecting Puerto Rico enacted by the Congress in the exercise of other powers shall be applicable in respect of Puerto Rico upon its acceptance by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. "(b) Statutory laws of the United States heretofore enacted, insofar as they are consistent with this compact and are otherwise applicable, shall have force and effect in respect of Puerto Rico to the extent that they could be applied if Puerto Rico were a member State of the Federal Union. "(c) Statutory laws of the United States hereafter enacted shall not be deemed to be applicable with respect to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico unless specifically made applicable by Act of Congress, by reference to Puerto Rico or to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, by name. "ARTICLE X "All public officials of the Commonwealth, its agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions, before entering upon their respective duties, shall take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. "ARTICLE XI "(a) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be represented in the United States by a 'Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States,' who shall be entitled to receive official recognition as the representative of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by all departments of the Government of the United States and shall have all the rights and privileges of a Member of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, except that he shall not be entitled to vote or to offer a motion to recommit. He shall be an ex-officio member of such committee of the House of Representatives as may have general charge of matters concerning Puerto Rico, shall be a member of such other committees as the House may determine, and shall be entitled to receive the same salary, emoluments, allowances, facilities and services as may be provided by law for the Members of the House of Representatives. "(b) The Commissioner shall be elected by the qualified electors of Puerto Rico at a general election to be held every four years under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; his term of office shall be four years from the third of January following his election and until his successor is qualified, and his election shall be certified by the Governor of Puerto Rico to the President of the United States and to the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States. "(c) No person shall be eligible for election as Commissioner who is not a citizen' of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, who is not more than twenty-five years of age, who does not read and write the English language and who does not meet such additional qualifications as the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may prescribe. "(d) In the case of vacancy to the office of the Commissioner by death, resignation or otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the term as may be provided by the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. "ARTICLE XII "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has and shall have full powers of selfgovernment consistent with the powers which the Federal Government exercises in accordance with this compact. Such powers shall be exercised by the Commonwealth in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Constitution of the United States, the terms of this compact and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. "ARTICLE XIII "(a) The jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico shall be the same as that provided by law with respect to the District Courts of the United States in the various districts in the States of the Union, including jurisdiction for the naturalization of aliens and residents of Puerto Rico who are not otherwise citizens of the United States. "(b) All proceedings in said Court shall be conducted in the English language, but if the judge of said Court shall determine that the interests of justice so require, and if the parties consent, he may order that any trial or proceeding be conducted in the Spanish language. "(c) The qualifications of jurors for proceedings in said Court shall be the same as the qualifications for jurors in the other District Courts of the United States: Provided, however, That no juror shall be required to have knowledge of the Spanish language in any proceeding to be conducted in the English language, nor be required to have knowledge of the English language in any proceeding to be conducted in the Spanish language. "(d) No suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax imposed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be maintained in the United States courts. "ARTICLE XIV "Final judgments or decrees rendered by the highest court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in which a decision could be had shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States in like manner as judgments and decrees of the courts of the several States. "ARTICLE XV "Nothing in these Articles of Association shall affect the validity or applicability of laws of the United States heretofore enacted by the Congress which are in conflict with these Articles of Association and to which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has given its express consent. "ARTICLE XVI "At such time as the per capita income of Puerto Rico, as determined by the United States Department of Commerce, shall equal that of any member State of the Union, the provisions contained in Articles III(d), III(e), III(g), IV(c), IV (d) and IV (e) shall be subject to termination by the Congress and at such time due consideration shall be given by the Congress to such proposals for the revision of the fiscal relationships of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with the United States as may then be made by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to such proposals with respect to the basic terms of association between Puerto Rico and the Federal Union as may then be submitted by the people of Puerto Rico on the basis of a plebiscite held under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico." SEC. 2. The compact between the United States and the people of Puerto Rico is hereby further amended by deleting Section 5 of Public Law 600, Eighty-first Congress, and by substituting therefor the following provisions: "Section 5: The following laws are hereby repealed: "The Act of Congress entitled 'An Act temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes,' approved April 12, 1900; the Act of Congress entitled 'An Act to provide a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes,' approved March 2, 1917, as amended, and referred to as the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act; and all laws or parts of law inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act or of the compact: Provided, however, that until the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, by amendment of its constitution, shall have adopted limitations upon its debt-incurring capacity, it shall not exceed the limitations upon its public indebtedness set forth in Section 3 of the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act." SEC. 3. This Act shall become effective when approved by a majority of the qualified voters of Puerto Rico participating in a referendum to be held in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and upon proclamation by the President after receipt by him of certification by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of the results of such referendum.' DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS ON S. 2708 Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., January 29, 1960. Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This will further reply to your letters of June 2 and September 17, 1959, requesting the views of the Bureau of the Budget on S. 2023 and S. 2708, bills to provide for amendments to the compact between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States. S. 2708 is a substitute for S. 2023 and attempts to eliminate certain deficiencies noted by executive agencies in the earlier bill. The Bureau of the Budget strongly favors the enactment of legislation which would clarify existing relationships between the Federal Government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and provide such measures as may be found necessary to strengthen further local self-government in Puerto Rico. The Congress added a new concept to our political system when it authorized the people of Puerto Rico by Public Law 600 of the 81st Congress to "organize a government pursuant to a constitution of their own adoption." We recognize that, as a logical consequence of the evolutionary growth of this new concept, actions may need to be taken not only to revise existing laws in the light of Puerto Rico's present status but also to develop novel arrangements which may well be without precedent in U.S. law or practice. Specific comments concerning the detailed provisions of this legislation are being furnished to the committee by the various departments and agencies concerned. The Bureau of the Budget's comments, therefore, are general only and directed toward certain areas in which the bill presents significant public policy issues. First, the apparent intent of the measure, with an important exception in the tax area, is to establish a relationship between the Federal Government and Puerto Rico similar to that existing between the Federal Government and the States. While we have no objection to this as a general proposition, the unique nature of the desired relationship makes difficult the drafting of language to accomplish this objective. In view of the importance of this legislation both to Puerto Rico and to the Federal Government, we urge that the language and legislative history ultimately developed by your committee achieve its objective in as specific terms as possible. Second, in the tax area the legislation would provide a favorable climate for the economic development of Puerto Rico through the stabilization of existing internal revenue and customs arrangements between the Federal Government and Puerto Rico. The report of the Treasury Department will discuss certain related problems presented by the pertinent provisions of S. 2708. The Treasury report will also discuss problems inherent in relationships between the Internal Revenue Code, this bill, and other pending Internal Revenue Code amendments. Article XVI of S. 2708 provides that the existing internal revenue and customs relationships of the Commonwealth and the United States "shall be subject to termination by the Congress" when Puerto Rico's per capita income equals that of any State. To minimize the problems related to a "tax freeze" however established and terminated, and to reduce the possibility of unintended and undesired impact either in the tax area or in other important relationships we urge that any stabilization of Federal taxes and customs in Puerto Rico be as limited in scope and as specifically defined as possible. We note that S. 2708 specifically requires Puerto Rican consent only for the application of Federal laws to Puerto Rico which could not be applied to a State. In this respect the "consent" provisions are narrower than those of S. 2023. The provision of S. 2023 which would have required disposal of any Federal properties or interests therein in Puerto Rico which are not needed for essential public purposes of the United States is not included in S. 2708. Nonetheless, article VII(c) of S. 2708 directs Federal agencies to inventory "any property' which they own or control in Puerto Rico and to justify Federal retention." This provision would impose a very great burden on Federal agencies and, with the elimination of the transfer provision, would not appear to serve any useful purpose, Sincerely yours, PHILLIP S. HUGHES, Assistant Director for Legislative Reference. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1960. Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: There is pending before your committe S. 2708, a bill to provide for amendments to the compact between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States. S. 2708 is a revision of a predecessor bill of the same title, S. 2023. It is an improvement in many respects. For example, article IV (a) is changed to eliminate any possible interference by this legislation with the quota system of the Sugar Act. Article IV (f) deletes the language contained in S. 2023 placing upon the President the burden of making a finding that the "general interests of the United States" require him to reject a request by the Commonwealth for the exclusion of Puerto Rico from a trade agreement. Article VII (dealing with the transfer to Puerto Rico of lands under inland navigable waters, submerged lands, etc.) has been rewritten so as to preserve the supreme authority of the United States over navigation on inland waters, as well as over harbors and inlets. Article XIII(c) deletes the (probably unintended) requirement of S. 2023 that all jurors know Spanish, even in proceedings conducted in English. Other improvements over S. 2023 could be cited. As to S. 2023, in a departmental report to you dated September 11, 1959, we refrained from taking a position on the detailed changes proposed in the bill. In that report we endorsed certain of the general objectives and then made one positive recommendation-that the question of Puerto Rico's future status be left open, so as not to interfere with the freedom of decision of the people of Puerto Rico, in choosing their ultimate destiny, within the limits of the Federal Constitution. We pointed out that the language of the proposed new title of the basic law governing Puerto Rico's relationship with the Federal Government, i.e.. "The Articles of Permanent Association of the People of Puerto Rico With the United States," seemed designed to foreclose any further consideration of the status question. A number of other provisions of the bill seemed to point in the same direction. We therefore recommended that the language should be amended to preserve Puerto Rico's freedom of choice. These views seem as appropriate to S. 2708 as to S. 2023. We now suggest that consideration also be given to the effect upon Puerto Rico's ultimate freedom of choice, of the various economic, financial, and administrative changes proposed in S. 2708. See for example the provisions in articles III (d), IV, and VI. A word should also be said about the possible effect on the status question of the new proposal contained in article XVI, which would provide that, at a future date contingent upon the growth of the per capita income of Puerto Rico, tax exemptions and peculiar financial advantages now enjoyed by Puerto Rico may be terminated by Congress, and the whole "terms of association" may be reviewed. It is the implication of this section that the Commonwealth status is not frozen permanently, but the section also implies that any consideration of a change in status must be postponed for many years. It amounts, therefore, to a status freeze for at least a temporary but substantial period, and should be considered in that light. We have previously expressed the view that, in the words of Elihu Root, the "interests of the people over whom we assert sovereignty (should be) the first and controlling consideration." We believe those interests require that the people of Puerto Rico ultimately make a decision as to the path they wish to pursue. We have no information that they wish at this time to make such a final decision. Until they do, we do not consider it right by any action of this Government to confront them with a choice they are not now prepared to make. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report to your committee. Sincerely yours, ELMER F. BENNETT, Acting Secretary of the Interior. (The text of Public Law 600, 81st Cong. (64 Stat. 319; 48 U.S.C. 731b-731e) is as follows:) [PUBLIC LAW 600-81ST CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 446-2D SESSION] [S. 3336] AN ACT To provide for the organization of a constitutional government by the people of Puerto Rico Whereas the Congress of the United States by a series of enactments has progressively recognized the right of self-government of the people of Puerto Rico; and Whereas under the terms of these congressional enactments an increasingly large measure of self-government has been achieved: Therefore Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, fully recognizing the principle of government by consent, this Act is now adopted in the nature of a compact so that the people of Puerto Rico may organize a government pursuant to a constitution of their own adoption. SEC. 2. This Act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of Puerto Rico for acceptance or rejection through an islandwide referendum to be held in accordance with the laws of Puerto Rico. Upon the approval of this Act, by a majority of the voters participating in such referendum, the Legislature of Puerto Rico is authorized to call a constitutional convention to draft a constitution for the said island of Puerto Rico. The said constitution shall provide a republican form of government and shall include a bill of rights. SEC. 3. Upon adoption of the constitution by the people of Puerto Rico, the President of the United States is authorized to transmit such constitution to the Congress of the United States if he finds that such constitution conforms with the applicable provisions of this Act and of the Constitution of the United States. Upon approval by the Congress the constitution shall become effective in accordance with its terms. SEC. 4. Except as provided in section 5 of this Act, the Act entitled "An Act to provide a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes", approved March 2, 1917, as amended, is hereby continued in force and effect and may hereafter be cited as the "Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act". SEC. 5. At such time as the constitution of Puerto Rico becomes effective, the following provisions of such Act of March 2, 1917, as amended, shall be deemed repealed: (1) Section 2, except the paragraph added thereto by Public Law 362, Eightieth Congress, first session, approved August 5, 1947. (2) Sections 4, 12, 12a, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18a, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 49, 49b, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, and 57. (3) The last paragraph in section 37. (4) Section 38, except the second paragraph thereof which begins with the words "The Interstate Commerce Act" and ends with the words "shall not apply in Puerto Rico". SEC. 6. All laws or parts of laws inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed. Approved July 3, 1950. |