H.R. 8393 · 117th Congress

Puerto Rico Status Act

Introduced on Jul 15, 2022 by Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-3). 62 cosponsors, 9 of them from another party. Latest action (Dec 15, 2022): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 15, 2022
Cosponsors
62
9 from the other party
Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To enable 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, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Advisory bodies
  • Citizenship and naturalization
  • Congressional districts and representation
  • Congressional elections
  • Congressional oversight
  • Disability assistance
  • Due process and equal protection
  • Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
  • Federal district courts
  • First Amendment rights
  • Foreign language and bilingual programs
  • Government information and archives
  • Human rights
  • Immigration status and procedures
  • Judicial procedure and administration
  • Jurisdiction and venue
  • Members of Congress
  • Political representation
  • Protest and dissent
  • Public participation and lobbying
  • Puerto Rico
  • Religion
  • Rule of law and government transparency
  • Social security and elderly assistance
  • Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
  • U.S. territories and protectorates
  • Veterans' pensions and compensation
  • Voting rights

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Dec 15, 2022). Public domain.

Puerto Rico Status Act

This bill provides for a plebiscite to be held on November 5, 2023, to resolve Puerto Rico's political status.

Specifically, such plebiscite shall offer eligible voters a choice of independence, sovereignty in free association with the United States, or statehood.

The Puerto Rico State Elections Commission shall

  • carry out a nonpartisan voter education campaign through traditional paid media and make available at all voting locations voter education materials related to the plebiscites, and
  • invite national and international election observers to ensure transparency and confidence in the electoral process.

All voter educational materials and ballots used to carry out this bill shall be made available in English and Spanish.

The bill sets forth transition and implementation provisions for each choice offered in the plebiscite.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Raúl M. GrijalvaD-AZ-3Sponsor

Democrats · 53

Republicans · 9

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Dec 15, 2022· House· Procedural· Failed 209–217
  2. On Passage
    Dec 15, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 233–191

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 15, 2022Introduced in House
  2. Jul 15, 2022Introduced in House
  3. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
  4. Jul 20, 2022 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  5. Jul 20, 2022 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 20.
  6. Dec 14, 2022Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 117-642.
  7. Dec 14, 2022 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 117-642.
  8. Dec 14, 2022 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 462.
  9. Dec 14, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1519 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8393 with 1 hour of general debate. Motion to recommit allowed. Bill is closed to amendments.
  10. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseRule H. Res. 1519 passed House.
  11. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1519. (consideration: CR H9867-9882)
  12. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 8393 with 1 hour of general debate. Motion to recommit allowed. Bill is closed to amendments.
  13. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 8393.
  14. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  15. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseMr. McClintock moved to recommit to the Committee on Natural Resources. (text: CR H9880)
  16. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseThe previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX.
  17. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 209 - 217 (Roll no. 528).House · Roll call 528
  18. Dec 15, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 233 - 191 (Roll no. 529).(text: CR H9867-9873)House · Roll call 529
  19. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 233 - 191 (Roll no. 529). (text: CR H9867-9873)House · Roll call 529
  20. Dec 15, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  21. Dec 15, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.