NAPREC · Presidents. Congress. The historical record.
Voices for Puerto Rico statehood
Explore recorded endorsements, speeches, and interviews on Puerto Rico statehood, with links to their sources.
A growing, sourced collection—not an exhaustive historical inventory. Dates distinguish events from archive publication when known. Recordings retain their original audio; captions depend on the publisher.
21 entries
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Address to Congress
George H. W. Bush
U.S. president at the time
Expresses his personal support for statehood while calling for Puerto Ricans to decide their future.
Endorsement excerpt
Gerald Ford
Former U.S. president
An archived message supporting Puerto Rico statehood.
Endorsement excerpt
Ronald Reagan
Former U.S. president
An archived message supporting Puerto Rico statehood.
Endorsement excerpt
George H. W. Bush
Former U.S. president
An archived message supporting Puerto Rico statehood.
Campaign remarks
Joe Biden
Former vice president and presidential candidate at the time
Calls statehood the most effective path to equal treatment, while affirming that Puerto Ricans must decide.
Legislation announcement
Martin Heinrich
U.S. senator
Announces a bill offering Puerto Rico a path to admission as a state.
Senate hearing
Martin Heinrich
U.S. senator
Urges Congress to respond to Puerto Rico’s statehood vote during a hearing on the territories.
Congressional remarks
Darren Soto
U.S. representative
Argues for the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act. The official release provides the remarks.
House floor excerpt
Don Young & Steny Hoyer
U.S. representatives at the time
Bipartisan floor remarks supporting Puerto Rico statehood. The recording’s exact date has not been established here.
House floor remarks
Steny Hoyer
U.S. representative
Reaffirms his support for statehood during debate on the Puerto Rico Status Act.
Yahoo Finance interview
Ritchie Torres
U.S. representative
Connects statehood with equal citizenship and voting representation. The archive supplies the interview clip.
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PBS interview · 4:36
Jenniffer González-Colón
Puerto Rico resident commissioner at the time
Discusses the statehood referendum and makes the case for equal representation.
Wallace Symposium address
Jamie Raskin
U.S. representative
Calls for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., statehood as part of expanding democratic participation.
Referendum message
Stephanie Murphy
U.S. representative at the time
Referendum message
Donna Shalala
U.S. representative at the time
Advocates statehood and equal treatment.
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Referendum message
Darren Soto
U.S. representative at the time
Referendum participation
Rob Bishop
U.S. representative at the time
Encourages referendum participation.
These entries concern a vote or a choice of status. They are not classified here as personal endorsements of statehood.
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Referendum participation
Marco Rubio
U.S. senator at the time
Encourages referendum participation.
These entries concern a vote or a choice of status. They are not classified here as personal endorsements of statehood.
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Status legislation press conference
Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy & colleagues
U.S. senators
Presents legislation for a choice among statehood, independence, and free association. Participation does not establish every speaker’s preferred option.
These entries concern a vote or a choice of status. They are not classified here as personal endorsements of statehood.
House floor speeches
Six members address Puerto Rico statehood
U.S. representatives
Floor remarks from Jenniffer González-Colón, María Elvira Salazar, Darren Soto, Susan Wild, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Val Demings. Hear each speaker in the original recording.
Recorded endorsement
Jamie Raskin
U.S. representative
A recorded statement supporting Puerto Rico statehood. The source hosts this clip as a video file; open it in a new tab.
About this collection
Entries are labeled by what the cited material supports. A status referendum and an endorsement of statehood are different claims. Historic statements reflect the speaker’s position at that time. Source review: September 26, 2026.
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