Washington, D.C. – Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) announced today that he will lead a full Natural Resources Committee hearing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on April 14 to consider two different pieces of legislation – H.R. 1522 by Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and H.R. 2070 by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) – to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status, an issue on which Grijalva said the Puerto Rican people deserve “clarity and closure.”

More information about the hearing, including a full witness list and livestream links, will be shared as soon as it becomes available.

“Legislative approaches that have gathered popular support will receive a fair hearing and due consideration in this Committee, and I will not put my thumb on the scale,” Grijalva said today. “I look forward to hearing about both bills to come to an equitable, and hopefully final, federal agreement on a process to resolve the island’s ultimate political status.”

Grijalva traveled twice to Puerto Rico in the previous Congress to survey damage from Hurricane Maria, meet with elected leaders and clean energy advocates, and hold a public forum on Puerto Rico’s political and economic future. He has garnered respect from multiple political factions on the island, and on the mainland, for dealing fairly with all sides of the status dispute.

On December 10, 2020, he wrote to then-President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris urging the rapid implementation of the Biden-Harris Plan for Recovery, Renewal and Respect for Puerto Rico and encouraging the incoming administration to create a federal working group to offer analysis and expertise to the White House and congressional lawmakers on Puerto Rico financial recovery and reconstruction as soon as possible. The letter is available online at https://bit.ly/3n7Dtke.

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