Public Law 88-271 was enacted on February 20, 1964, during the 1st Session of the 88th Congress. Public Law 88-271 authorized the creation of the United States Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico. Central to this Commission was the potential development of a status plebiscite.
On March 2, 1954, during the 2nd Session of the 83rd Congress, Republican Representative Page H. Belcher of Oklahoma (R-OK) introduced H.Res. 455 in the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. This resolution called for an island wide referendum on whether Puerto Rico should become totally independent from the United States.
On December 6, 1899, during the 1st Session of the 56th Congress, Republican Senator William E. Chandler of New Hampshire (R-NH) introduced S. 335 in the Senate Committee on Finance. 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.
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.
During the 3rd Session of the 76th Congress, on April 12, 1940, Democrat and member of the Puerto Rican conservative Coalición, Resident Commissioner Bolivar Pagan (D/Coalición-PR) introduced H.R. 9361 in the House Committee on Insular Affairs. This was an organic or territorial act.
On April 5, 1989, during the 1st Session of the 101st Congress, Democrat Senator John B. Johnston of Louisiana (D-LA) introduced S. 711 in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. This legislation authorized an island wide plebiscitary vote on multiple status options for Puerto Rico.
On March 19, 1997, during the 1st Session of the 105th Congress, Republican Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho (R-ID) introduced S. 472 in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. This plebiscitary legislation provided for a status plebiscite enabling the residents of Puerto Rico to express their preferences for a political status for the Puerto Rican islands.
On March 31, 1987, during the 1st Session of the 100th Congress, Democrat Representative Roland V. Dellums of California (D-CA) introduced H.J.Res. 218 in the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The resolution affirmed the right to self-determination and the decolonization of Puerto Rico.
On October January 9, 1989, during the 1st Session of the 91st Congress, Democrat Representative Adam C. Powell Jr. of New York (R-NY) introduced H.R. 2699 in the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. This status bill sought to provide the admission of Puerto Rico into the Union, on an equal footing with the original states.
Reload document 
Open in new tab