ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish:

A stealth Puerto Rico statehood bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee in July and could be headed for a full House floor vote at any time. H.R. 2499 calls for a so-called "non-binding" expression by Puerto Rican voters on their political status. But appearances are deceiving. The wording and strategy of the proposed balloting are rigged to produce a majority vote in favor of statehood -- while trampling on the wishes of Puerto Ricans who want to maintain the current U.S. commonwealth status or prefer full independence.

That is why we appreciate the Paul Revere-like warnings today at The National Press Club regarding H.R. 2499 from U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., and Jose Hernandez-Mayoral, secretary of federal and international affairs for the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico which favors the island's current commonwealth status.

H.R. 2499 by Puerto Rico's pro-statehood delegate to Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, splits voting into two rounds. The first round stipulates a yes-or-no ballot on the current political status. If the current -- e.g. commonwealth -- status doesn't win a majority, there will be a second referendum. But in round two voters will have only two choices: statehood or some form of independence. The idea is that statehood voters will join with those favoring full independence to vote for something other than the current commonwealth status in round one. But in the second round voters would have to choose between statehood and some form of independence. Remaining a commonwealth would not be an option. This is undemocratic, patronizing, and an insult to Puerto Rican voters.

Although the vote is billed as 'non-binding,' Puerto Rico's pro-statehood party openly plans to use a victory in the second round as an excuse to send "congressional representatives" to Capitol Hill -- in hopes the resulting publicity and political pressure would force Congress to admit Puerto Rico to the Union. It is similar to the strategy that Tennessee used to become a state in 1796.

An effort by Congressman Broun to amend H.R. 2499 in committee stipulating that any new state make English the official language of government operations was defeated on a 13-to-24 vote. This creates an unacceptable risk that the admission of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico will divide Americans by language -- at a time when polls show that 84 percent of Americans want English to be the official language of government operations in the U.S.

    For interviews contact:
    K.C. McAlpin (703) 477-1623
    Phil Kent (404) 226-3549

SOURCE ProEnglish