Memorandum of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

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 In November of 1992, President George H. W. Bush issued a memo regarding the relationship between the Federal Government and Puerto Rico. The report, titled Memorandum of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, states, 

Because Puerto Rico's degree of constitutional self-government, population, and size set it apart from other areas also subject to Federal jurisdiction under Article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the Constitution, I hereby direct all Federal departments, agencies, and officials, to the extent consistent with the Constitution and the laws of the United States, henceforward to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a State, except insofar as doing so with respect to an existing Federal program or activity would increase or decrease Federal receipts or expenditures, or would seriously disrupt the operation of such program or activity. With respect to a Federal program or activity for which no fiscal baseline has been established, this memorandum shall not be construed to require that such program or activity be conducted in a way that increases or decreases Federal receipts or expenditures relative to the level that would obtain if Puerto Rico were treated other than as a State.

In response to the document contracted by President George H. W. Bush regarding the islands political status, the first Presidential task force was issued in 1997 and entails restrictions and opinions about results during annual referendums. HR 856 reads as; the United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act - Declares that: if the referendum held under this Act results in approval of sovereignty leading to Statehood for Puerto Rico, the English language requirements of the Federal Government shall apply to Puerto Rico to the same extent as Federal law requires throughout the United States; and it is in the best interest of Puerto Rico to promote the teaching of English as the language of opportunity and empowerment in the United States in order to enable public school students to achieve English language proficiency by the age of ten. Requires a referendum to be held by December 31, 1998, on Puerto Rico's political status, for either: retention of its present Commonwealth status; full self-government through separate sovereignty leading to independence or free association; or full self-government through U.S. sovereignty leading to statehood.

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