HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE. IT IS A PECULIAR AND TRAGIC ISH KNEE
           OF HISTORY -- IRONY OF HISTORY THAT THE FIRST REPUBLIC TO BE
           CREATED OUT OF COLONIALISM MIGHT NOW ENTER THE 21ST CENTURY IN
           A NEO NEO-COLONIALIST POSITION. NO AMERICAN SHOULD BE CONTENT

           WITH THIS CONTRADICTION OF OUR OWN HISTORY AND THAT SOME MIGHT
           CLAIM -- SOME MIGHT EVEN ACCUSE -- THAT THIS UNITED STATES
           GOVERNMENT IS IN A POSITION WITH THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO THAT
           IS ANYTHING LESS THAN FULL FULL, FREE, FAIR AND DEMOCRATIC. AND
           YET BY THE DEFINITIONS THAT WE'VE APPLIED FOR OURSELVES, IT
           WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO DEFEND AGAINST THE CHARGE. WRITTEN ON THE

           WALLS OF THIS CAPITOL FROM THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT
           HARRISON IN 1841 -- AND I QUOTE THE WORDS -- "THE ONLY
           LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO GOVERN IS AN EXPRESS GRANT OF POWER FROM
           THE GOVERNED." AND YET, MR. PRESIDENT, EVERY DAY THE PEOPLE OF
           PUERTO RICO ARE SUBJECTED TO FEES, RULES, REGULATIONS, POLICIES
           AND DETERMINATIONS FROM THIS CONGRESS HAVING NO REPRESENTATIVE

           WHO HAS A RIGHT TO VOTE AND MAKE A JUDGMENT ON THEIR BEHALF.
           THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO AND THE
           PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES IS A CONTRADICTION WITH EVERYTHING
           WE HOLD DEAR AND UPON EVERY PRINCIPLE UPON WHICH THIS COUNTRY
           WAS FOUNDED. MR. PRESIDENT, I URGE THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO TO
           TAKE THIS JUDGMENT SERIOUSLY BETWEEN THIS DATE AND DECEMBER 13

           TO THINK CAREFULLY. IF THEY DECIDE TO JOIN THIS UNION, THIS IS
           A MOMENT THAT THEY WILL NOT VISIT AGAIN. JOINING THIS UNION IS
           PERMANENT PERMANENT. IF IT WERE MY JUDGMENT, I, LIKE THE
           SENATOR FROM NEW YORK, SENATOR D'AMATO, WOULD CHOOSE TO JOIN
           THE UNION. I BELIEVE HISTORY HAS GIVEN US THE RIGHT, THE

           RESPONSIBILITY TO FACE THE FUTURE TOGETHER. BUT I RECOGNIZE
           MINE IS NO MORE THAN A CASUAL OPINION. THE DECISION AND THE
           DECISION ALONE RESTS WITH THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO. THE
           IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESOLUTION IS THAT AS THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO
           RICO VOTE, THEY SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT THE UNITED STATES
           CONGRESS CONSIDERS PUERTO RICO TO GENUINELY BE THE UNFINISHED
           BUSINESS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY. THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO

           RICO SHOULD RECOGNIZE AS THEY VOTE, THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
           STATES IS WATCHING, THAT WE RECOGNIZE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND
           ARE PREPARED IN THE 106TH CONGRESS TO RECEIVE THEIR JUDGMENT
           AND MAKE OUR OWN DECISION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS UNION. MR.
           PRESIDENT, I ONCE AGAIN WANT TO CONGRATULATE SENATOR MURKOWSKI
           FOR HAVING PRESIDED OVER THESE ISSUES THESE MONTHS MONTHS,
           SENATOR GRAMM FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AND EACH OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO
           COME TO THIS FLOOR ON A BIPARTISAN BASIS, ACROSS IDEOLOGICAL

           LINES UNITED IN OUR COMMON BELIEF THAT THERE IS NO RIGHT TO
           GOVERN WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED AND THAT IT IS NOT
           GOOD ENOUGH DESPITE THE FRANCHISEMENT OF ALL OF OUR PEOPLES
           ACROSS THIS CONTINENT, THAT THERE REMAINS A SINGLE EXCEPTION.
           AMERICA IS TOO GOOD A LAND, OUR HISTORY IS TOO GREAT FOR ANYONE
           TO BE AN EXCEPTION ON THESE GREAT AND LASTING PRINCIPLES. MR.

           PRESIDENT, I YIELD THE FLO FLOOR. A SENATOR: MR. PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA.
           

           MR. MURKOWSKI: IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS SIDE HAS ABOUT
           15 MINUTES REMAINING?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: 15 MINUTES.
           

           MR. MURKOWSKI: I WOULD YIELD FIVE MINUTES TO SENATOR DOMENICI
           FROM NEW MEXICO.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO IS
           RECOGNIZED FOR FIVE MINUTES.
           

           MR. DOMENICI: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. FIRST LET ME SAY THAT
           IT'S APPROPRIATE THAT WE TAKE THIS ACTION TONIGHT ON THE SECOND
           DAY OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH IN THE UNITED STATES. IT'S QUITE
           APPROPRIATE WHILE WE'RE HONORING THE HISPANIC CULTURE'S
           CONTRIBUTION TO OUR COUNTRY THAT WE'RE NOW SAYING TO ANOTHER
           PART OF HISPANIC QUUL TOUR THAT -- CULTURE THAT WE'RE WILLING
           TO SEE YOU TAKE A VOTE TO SEE WHETHER YOU WANT TO BECOME A

           STATE OR NOT. MR. PRESIDENT, THIS RESOLUTION AFFRIMS THAT THE
           FIRST STEP IN ANY CHANGE OF POLITICAL STATUS FOR THE COMMUNITY
           OF PUERTO RICO RESTS WITH THE PEOPLE OF THAT ISLAND. WHEN THEY
           EXPRESS THAT OPINION IN DECEMBER -- DECEMBER OF THIS COMING --
           OF THIS VERY YEAR THAT WE'RE IN -- THEN IT WILL BE UP TO
           CONGRESS TO TAKE WHATEVER STEPS ARE NECESSARY TO CONSIDER THAT
           DECISION. BUT LET ME SAY, MR. PRESIDENT, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF

           SENATE HEROES WITH REFERENCE TO THIS PUERTO RICAN RESOLUTION.
           FIRST, I MUST SAY THAT APPARENTLY THE RECOLLECTION OF THE
           DIFFICULTIES OF TAKING A VOTE AND DECIDING WHETHER YOU'RE GOING
           TO BECOME A STATE OR NOT IS REMEMBERED MOST BY THOSE SENATORS
           WHOSE STATES WERE LAST ADMITTED OR CLOSE TO LAST ADMITTED SO
           THAT THE HERO TONIGHT IS FRANK MURKOWSKI. ANYBODY WONDERING --
           THAT'S NOT A HISPANIC NAME -- MURKOWSKI -- BUT IT IS A NAME OF

           A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY -- PERHAPS POLISH ONE MIGHT SAY. AND HE
           UNDERSTANDS -- HE UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT IS FOR A STATE TO GO
           THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME A PART
           OF THE UNION, THE UNITED STATES UNION OF STATES. AND I REMIND
           THE PUERTO RICANS, AMERICANS THINK THE UNION'S SO IMPORTANT
           THAT WE HAD A CIVIL WAR OVER WHETHER YOU COULD UNILATERALLY
           DROP OUT OF THE UNION ONCE YOU WERE IN IT. SO TAKE IT SERIOUS,
           PUERTO RICANS BECAUSE IT IS SERIOUS. WE HAD THE BIGGEST BLOOD

           BATH IN OUR NATION ABOUT THE ISSUE OF KEEPING THIS GREAT NATION
           TOGETHER. AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT AND YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED
           ABOUT THAT. BUT SECONDLY, LET ME SUGGEST THAT IN THE STATE OF
           NEW YORK, THERE'S A SENATOR NAMED SENATOR D'AMATO. AND THE
           PUERTO RICANS KNOW THAT'S NOT A SPANISH NAME EITHER. IT'S AN
           ITALIAN NAME, LIKE MY NAME -- DOMENICI. BUT THIS SENATOR FROM
           NEW YORK UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE PUERTO RICANS IN HIS STATE AND

           THE PUERTO RICANS IN PUERTO RICO MEAN TO OUR NATION. AND HE HAS
           NEVER BEEN UNWILLING TO GIVE THE PEOPLE IN PUERTO RICO AN
           OPPORTUNITY TO DETERMINE THEIR DESTINY, AND I BELIEVE SECOND TO
           SENATOR MURKOWSKI ON OUR SIDE OF THE AISLE, BEHIND THE SCENES
           HE HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THIS NIGHT SHOULD OCCUR. NOT
           NEXT YEAR OR THE YEAR AFTER BUT NOW. AND SO I COMPLIMENT MY

           GOOD FRIEND, AND A FRIEND OF THE PUERTO RICO CANS IN -- PUERTO
           RICANS IN NEW YORK THAT LIVE THERE -- I COMPLIMENT THE SENATOR
           FOR HIS TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS REGARD FOR WHAT THEY THINK IS
           RIGHT AND FAIR. AND I MUST SAY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
           AISLE, IT IS MOST INTERESTING THAT TONIGHT WE HAVE A SERIES OF
           SENATORS WITH THESE STRANGE NAMES. MURKOWSKI ON OUR SIDE.
           D'AMATO ON OUR SIDE. DOMENICI SPEAKING. AND TORRICELLI FROM NEW
           JERSEY JERSEY. AND I WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOU, SENATOR, FOR YOUR

           VIGILANT AND ABSOLUTE PERSISTENCE THAT SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE
           BEFORE WE LEAVE HERE. SO TONIGHT, WITHOUT ANY QUESTION, THE
           PUERTO RICAN PEOPLE CAN ALREADY SAY ACROSS THEIR LAND, BECAUSE
           IT IS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, THE SENATE WILL VOTE TONIGHT ON
           THIS RESOLUTION PROPOUNDED BY THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA, SENATOR
           MURKOWSKI, AND, FRANKLY, IT WILL PASS OVERWHELMINGLY. THERE
           WILL BE NO DISSENTING VOTES TONIGHT, BECAUSE FOR THOSE WHO

           WOULD LIKE TO DISSENT, THEY'VE ALREADY DECIDED THAT THEY'RE NOT
           GOING TO MAKE A POINT OF IT. AND AS A CONSEQUENCE, WE'RE GOING
           TO APPROVE THIS IN JUST AS FORMIDABLE WAY AS IF WE HAD VOTED
           WHEN THE UNITED STATES SENATE SAYS, WITHOUT DISSENTING VOTE
           TONIGHT, LET US APPROVE THIS RESOLUTION. SO, MR. PRESIDENT,
           ONCE AGAIN, MANY OF US CAME FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES OR OUR
           PARENTS DID AND WE KNOW THE VALIDITY AND THE GREAT VALUE OF
           AMERICA. AND WE HOPE THE PEOPLE THERE IN PUERTO RICO UNDERSTAND

           THAT THAT. AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. I YIELD THE FLOOR. MR.
           MURKOWSKI: MR. PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA.
           

           MR. MURKOWSKI: SENATOR HATCH, I BELIEVE, WOULD LIKE RECOGNITION
           FOR THREE MINUTES.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM UTAH IS RECOGNIZED FOR
           THREE MINUTES.
           

           MR. HATCH: MR. PRESIDENT, I'VE BEEN TO PUERTO RICO AND I HAVE
           TO SAY IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LAND. THESE ARE OUR FELLOW CITIZENS.
           THEY HAVE TO MAKE THIS DETERMINATION. AND, OF COURSE, WE SHOULD
           GIVE THEM THAT RIGHT. I'VE HEARD BOTH ARGUMENTS WITHIN PUERTO
           RICO. SOME FEEL IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE STATEHOOD. OTHERS
           DON'T THINK IT'S QUITE SO GREAT. THERE ARE DISADVANTAGES TO
           BECOMING A STATE, NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, BUT THERE ARE GREAT
           ADVANTAGES AS WELL. AND ALL E'RE DOING HERE THIS EVENING IS

           ACKNOWLEDGING AS MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE THE RIGHT
           OF OUR FELLOW UNITED STATES CITIZENS IN PUERTO RICO TO EXPRESS
           DEMOCRATICALLY THEIR VIEWS REGARDING THEIR FUTURE POLITICAL
           STATUS THROUGH A REFERENDUM OR OTHER PUBLIC FORUM AND
           COMMUNICATE THOSE VIEWS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
           AND TO CONGRESS. THAT'S THE LEAST WE COULD DO. THESE ARE GOOD
           PEOPLE. THESE ARE PROUD PEOPLE. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE
           CONTRIBUTED TO THIS COUNTRY AND WHO WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THIS

           COUNTRY EVEN THOUGH THEIR STATUS HAS BEEN DIFFERENT FROM OTHER
           CITIZENS. AND I PERSONALLY ENDORSE AND SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION
           HERE THIS EVENING, AND I HOPE THAT -- I KNOW THAT IT WILL PASS
           AND IT WILL PASS BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT, WHICH I THINK IS A HIGH
           TRIBUTE TO THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO AND TO THOSE ON BOTH SIDES
           OF THIS ISSUE DOWN THERE. I WANT TO CONGRATULATE ALL OF THOSE
           WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GET THIS DONE, ESPECIALLY SENATOR
           MURKOWSKI, SENATOR TORRICELLI, THE OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN
           MENTIONED, SENATOR D'AMATO, SENATOR DOMENICI, ET CETERA. THIS

           IS A WONDERFUL EVENING, A WONDERFUL DAY, AND SOMETHING THAT'S
           LONG OVERDUE AND I WANT TO CONGRATULATE MY COLLEAGUES FOR
           HAVING ACCOMPLISHED THIS TODAY. I YIELD THE FLOOR. MR.
           MURKOWSKI: MR. PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA.
           

           MR. MURKOWSKI: MR. PRESIDENT, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE CONCLUDING
           MINUTES THAT WE HAVE BEFORE OUR VOTE, LET ME RECOGNIZE FROM THE
           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, OUR GOOD FRIEND, CARLOS MORELOS
           MARCELLO WHO IS WITH US WATCHING THIS HISTORIC ACTION IN THE
           UNITED STATES SENATE. IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU WITH US, MY
           FRIEND, AND YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THESE MOMENTS HAVE BEEN
           IMMEASURABLE AND YOUR PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO CAN BE VERY PROUD

           OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN BRINGING THIS MATTER FROM THE HOUSE OF
           REPRESENTATIVES TO THE FLOOR OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
           TONIGHT. LET ME ACKNOWLEDGE MY GOOD FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES WHO
           HAVE HAD SUCH A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MOVING THIS TO WHERE WE ARE
           TODAY. OF COURSE, THAT WOULD INCLUDE SENATOR TORRICELLI AND
           SENATOR D'AMATO. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THE
           CONSTITUENCY ASSOCIATED WITH MANY OF THE MEMBERS WHO HAVE COME

           FORTH AS INITIAL SPONSORS. SENATOR LAUTENBERG, SENATOR HATCH,
           MY GOOD FRIEND FROM HAWAII, SENATOR AKAKA, SENATOR DASCHLE,
           SENATOR LANDRIEU, SENATOR LIEBERMAN, SENATOR GRAHAM OF FLORIDA,
           SENATOR DOM DOM. THERE ARE MANY, MANY MORE. -- SENATOR
           DOMENICI. BUT MANY, MANY MORE. BUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
           COMMITMENT, PARTICULARLY OF SENATOR D'AMATO AND SENATOR
           TORRICELLI, I THINK REPRESENT AN EXTRAORDINARY SENSITIVITY AS
           BROUGHT OUT IN THE STATEMENTS NOT NECESSARILY INDIVIDUALLY OF

           THEIR FEELING TOWARDS WHAT AMERICA'S ALL ABOUT BUT PERHAPS
           BETTER IN THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY THE SENATOR FROM NEW
           MEXICO, SENATOR DOMENICI, WHO INDICATED, AS YOU LOOK AT THIS
           NAME OF SPONSORS ON THIS LEGISLATION, YOU HAVE A POT POURRI, IF
           YOU WILL, OF THE MIXTURE OF AMERICA COMMITTED TO DEMOCRACY. I
           MUST ACKNOWLEDGE IN MY THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT THIS
           SENATOR FROM ALASKA DOES NOT HAVE A LARGE PUERTO RICAN

           CONSTITUENCY. BUT I DO HAVE A LONG MEMORY. ALASKA'S BEEN A
           STATE SINCE 1959. I GREW UP IN A TERRITORY. WE HAD TAXATION
           WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. MY FATHER USED TO SAY, HE FELT GOOD
           ABOUT BEING ABLE TO WRITE ON HIS INCOME TAX FORM IN A
           
           RED PEN, "FILED UNDER PROTEST: TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
           REPRESENTATION." BUT THAT'S THE EXTENT OF WHAT MADE HIM FEEL
           GOOD. AND I CAN RECALL SEEING
{END: 1998/09/17 TIME: 19-45 , Thu.  105TH SENATE, SECOND SESSION}