On January 3, 1900, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, Republican Senator Joseph B. Foraker of Ohio (R-OH) introduced S. 2016 in the Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico. The bill was an organic or territorial act.
The Foraker Act of 1900 was enacted on April 12, 1900, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress.
This was the first organic act providing a civil government for Puerto Rico. This organic act initially
treated Puerto Rico as a foreign territorial possession for tariff purposes. This act was subsequently
amended on multiple occasions and presently remains as the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act.
During the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, on January 22, 1900, Democrat Representative Robert
L. Henry of Texas (D-TX) introduced H.R. 7020 in the House Committee on Insular Affairs. The
bill was an organic or territorial act.
On February 8, 1900, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, Republican Representative Sereno E. Payne of New York (R-NY) introduced HR8245 in the House from the Committee of the White House on the State of the Union. The organic act imposed a 25% tariff on merchandize imported from Puerto Rico into the United States. This organic act treated Puerto Rico as a foreign country for constitutional purposes.
On November 8, 2023, during the first Session of the 118th Congress, Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico (D-NM) introduced S.3231 in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. This bill enabled the people of Puerto Rico to choose a permanent, nonterritorial, fully self-governing political status for Puerto Rico and to provide for a transition to and the implementation of that permanent, nonterritorial, fully self-governing political status. The three territorial options included in this bill are Statehood, Independence, and Sovereignty in Free Association.
During the 1st Session of the 64th Congress, on December 7, 1915, Democrat Representative Willard Saulsbury Jr. of Delaware (D-DE) introduced S. 26 in the Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico. The bill was an organic or territorial act.
On January 8, 1900, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, Democratic Representative John F.
Lacey of Iowa (D-IA) introduced H.R. 5466 in the House Committee on Insular Areas. The bill was
an organic or territorial act.
During the 2nd Session of the 56th Congress, on February 24, 1900, Republican Representative Henry A. Cooper of Wisconsin (R-WI) introduced H.R.8878 in the House Committee on Insular Affairs. The bill was an organic or territorial act.
During the 2nd Session of the 57th Congress, on June 13, 1914, Democrat Representative Willard Saulsbury Jr. of Delaware (D-DE) introduced S.5845 in the Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico. The bill was an organic or territorial act.
On January 24, 1900, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, Republican Senator Orville H.Platt of Connecticut (R-CT) introduced S.2264 in the Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico. The bill was a proposed amendment to an organic or territorial act (Foraker Act).
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