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S. 865 117th Congress Senate

Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

Official title: A bill to recognize the right of the People of Puerto Rico to call a status convention through which the people would exercise their natural right to self-dete… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to recognize the right of the People of Puerto Rico to call a status convention through which the people would exercise their natural right to self-determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 18, 2021 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Advisory bodiesCaribbean areaCongressional oversightElections, voting, political campaign regulation
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Government information and archivesGovernment trust fundsLegislative rules and procedurePolitical representationPuerto RicoSovereignty, recognition, national governance and statusState and local government operationsU.S. territories and protectorates
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This bill died when the 117th Congress ended
It never became law before the 117th Congress (2021–2022) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed Senate
Passed House
To President
Became law
Mar 18, 2021
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mar 18, 2021
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action March 18, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021

This bill establishes a process for the people of Puerto Rico to vote on the political status (e.g., statehood) of the territory. Congress may ratify the decision through a joint resolution.

The bill declares that the legislature of Puerto Rico has the authority to call a status convention regarding the political status of the territory.

The bill provides for public financing of delegate elections to the status convention and establishes a Congressional Bilateral Negotiating Commission to provide advice and consultation to delegates of the status convention.

The status convention must provide self-determination options for a referendum of the people of Puerto Rico. Ranked-choice voting is a permitted format for the referendum. Delegates shall carry out an educational campaign through traditional paid media related to the referendum.

The bill provides for congressional consideration of a joint resolution to ratify the self-determination option selected through the referendum.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 2070 Identical bill Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • FDJ SOLUTIONS, LLC
    for PUERTO RICAN CULTURAL CENTER · Illinois · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

 Cosponsors 10
All 10 Democratic 7 Republican 1 Independent 1
D
Duckworth, Tammy
Illinois · Jun 7, 2022
 D
Durbin, Richard J.
Illinois · Jun 7, 2022
 D
Klobuchar, Amy
Minnesota · May 11, 2021
Burr, Richard
· Apr 27, 2021
 D
Booker, Cory A.
New Jersey · Mar 18, 2021
 D
Gillibrand, Kirsten E.
New York · Mar 18, 2021
 D
Markey, Edward J.
Massachusetts · Mar 18, 2021
 I
Sanders, Bernard
Vermont · Mar 18, 2021
 D
Warren, Elizabeth
Massachusetts · Mar 18, 2021
 R
Wicker, Roger F.
Mississippi · Mar 18, 2021
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 865: Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-865/
MLA
"S. 865: Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-865/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 865, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-865/.
Markdown link
[S. 865: Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-865/)
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