Filipinos pre-1946, with exceptions as mentioned above, were US “nationals”, a class of people “under the protection of the US”, but not full citizens-by-birth as we 'Ricans are (which did require an Act of Congress to be so), so there was no issue about citizenship rights.
As to the issue of referenda, the '67, '93 and '98 votes were local initiatives, essentially understood by everyone familiar with island politics as efforts by whoever was in office at the time to rally the base. In all three cases the eventual result was nothing happened, in '98 the winner (by a majority!) was “none of the above”.
There has never been a Congressionally-passed act to call a binding, or at least “with the implied commitment to follow up”, multiple choice, vote. In the early 50s we were given a Yes/No, take it or take it, vote on whether to remain under direct colonial rule or adopt the current “commonwealth” limited Home Rule. The closest to a multiple choice process happened during the Bush41 years where a reasonably decent proposal passed the House only to die in a 10-10 Committee deadlock in the Senate. In '98 another attempt squeaked by the House by a 1-vote margin and the Senate limited itself to issuing a sense-of-the-Senate resolution about how nice it would be if we made up our minds. In '64-'72 and again in '99-2008 the task was assigned to a White House committee and all those got us was a lot of paper to light our grills with.
The degree of integration of Puerto Rico as a polity and of Puerto Ricans as individuals, to the US economic and political system, is such that the only things that would REALLY change locally would be the election of a congressional representation and Electors, and the imposition of federal personal income tax. I mean, other than not filing a 1040 most years that I have no income other than local wages, I’ve been through everything in relation to the Federal Government that I’d be through if I lived in, say, Maryland my whole life. Our banks are Federal Reserve and FDIC members, my car has to comply with EPA standards, I registered for Selective Service at 18, my US passport has no asterisks, etc. In turn, at the national level virtually all the changes woudl involve those extra 8 seats at the Capitol and the College and the reapportioning of both appropriations and tax responsibility. In virtually every other aspect of everyday functioning vis-a-vis the interaction of PR with the rest of the American polity there would [need to] be no change.
Oh, and nothing would have to get printed in Spanish that is not already being printed in Spanish. Give ya one guess as to in what language my US Census forms were printed in earlier this year.
Notice the parenthetical “need to”, however. As one can see by the various amendments proposed in the course of the current legislation, and as happened with various other admissions, a number of our Congressbeings would love to get all clever load up the Terms of Statehood with hoops such as that English be adopted as language of local schools or that all people who claim to be Puerto Rican no matter where resident be allowed to participate in the vote, mostly to pander to their hometown constituencies and never mind if it ruins the bill.
The argument that it is a sneak-statehood bill is premised on the idea that if in round one “keeping the statu quo” is defeated, as would be expected by adding statehooders + nationalists (both of the full independentist and sovereigntist flavors), then in the next round of statehood v. real independence v. “association”, statehood would, say the opponents, win by default as the refuge of everyone in the electorate who is pro-close-US-ties, which is assumed (justifiably) to be a majority.
This argument neglects the small fact that nothing in the proposed Act does, or could, bind the hands of Congress to force the concession of statehood if they don’t think the request is timely or they just get the wrong vibe about it. A binding commitment to admit would have to come in the form of an Enabling Act and Act of Admission (or just jump straight to the Act of Admission) wherein the Congress and the Prez would say, this territory WILL be admitted as a State once reasonable terms X, Y and Z are complied with, effective ABC days after it is so certified. Admission being by its very nature a Political Matter there should be no standing for anyone to argue that HR 2499 can “sneak statehood”. As it stands Nancy Pelosi could just say, “So, 65% of people wanted to change the statu quo, and on the second round 55% want statehood. How lovely. Not good enough, I’m afraid, better luck next time. Here’s $5 billion in school construction earmarks to soothe your pain.”
The process would NOT favor independence since almost immediately after such a vote the procommonwealth faction would loudly proclaim that 41 of those 45% against statehood came from their side, and from supporters of a status of enhanced autonomy but Oh Dear God Don’t Leave Us Alone With Chavez Next Door. Independence has more visible and louder public expression than its real electoral prowess. What there is in PR is a strong streak of sociocultural “identity” politics bit that exists even within the pro-statehood movement.
For some time now PR is undergoing a similar process of revolt-of-the-hardcore-base as is happening with US parties, and the usual moderates in prostatehood and procommonwealth leadership are facing pressure from True Believers getting elected who are calling them out: When the heck ARE we going to move in the direction of the (Full Statehood/Fully Autonomous Rule, per the respective party) that you have been promising us, or do you all intend to just hold on to your jobs running what there is (and not even fixing what ails it)?
(“Because, of course, if only we went to DC and showed how True American our hearts are, the poor benighted Congressmen would see The Light and we’d be given statehood in an eyeblink, for sure. The only reason nothing happens is everyone is taking money from “Them” to let it slide. The only reason we don’t win votes is activist judges make us give multiple choices instead of Commonwealth: Sucks or Blows? Vote for us the True Statehooders.” Yay.:rolleyes:)
So these efforts make for a great show to go back home to PR… or even better* to your Congressional district with a large Latino population* (hello, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Ross-Lehtinen), and tell them how we are really going to DC and demanding, I tell you, demanding, to be heard! My forecast is whatever’s left of HR 2499 is likely to die in the US Senate of 41-vote disease, and it ain’t gona be all 'Pubs either. Then we’ll have another locally-organized straw vote, it’ll be another plurality squeaker with no real majority that will be used as a referendumn on the government in office.
I’ve been at this business too long… can you tell?