June 17, 2026
Chairman Mike Lee
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
363 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Ranking Member Martin Heinrich
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Lee and Ranking Member Heinrich,
We write today on behalf of our members, allies, and Puerto Rican communities on the archipelago and across the United States to demand urgent action to support the people of Puerto Rico. And we call on you to advance a just solution to the root cause of Puerto Rico’s pressing problems: its 128-year-old territorial status.
The Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources meets to examine the “state of the U.S. territories” at a time of profound crises in Puerto Rico. As Senators meet in Washington, D.C., tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have been without running water for weeks. Puerto Ricans already face unreliable electricity service; the archipelago remains beset by frequent power outages. This crumbling infrastructure continues to hurt families, schools, hospitals, and businesses, costing millions of dollars per day in economic output.
The United States Senate, and this committee, have direct responsibility over Puerto Rico and are uniquely positioned to advance solutions. The U.S. government can restore hundreds of millions of dollars originally destined for renewable energy in Puerto Rico. It can expedite the approval and release of billions in recovery funds that remain tied up by federal agencies. And it can provide emergency support for critical infrastructure repairs to restore water service.
Puerto Rico also faces a political crisis. Governor Jenniffer González and her administration should be prioritizing the above requests for federal execution. Instead, a constant and concerning stream of credible corruption allegations continue to surface, including reports of a drugs-for-votes scheme in the 2024 election. This week, text messages showed that the Governor’s Chief of Staff engaged in a campaign of intimidation and reprisal against whistleblowers who released damning documents detailing a pattern of corruption that led to the resignation of Puerto Rico’s chief economic development officer.6 Governor González, one of today’s witnesses, should answer to the Senate committee for her administration’s alleged malfeasance.
Finally, the U.S. Senate must take up the political responsibility to advance a just and inclusive decolonization process for Puerto Rico. This Committee should once again take up S.865, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, which had bipartisan support when it was introduced in 2021. That bill rightfully discards the current territorial status from consideration and includes key deliberative mechanisms. It recognizes the right of the Puerto Rican people to convene a Status Assembly. And it establishes a bilateral U.S.-P.R. commission to advise that assembly, and to eventually negotiate and implement the non-colonial status alternative selected by the Puerto Rican people.
The Senate must also level with the Puerto Rican people about the fact that statehood does not and will not have the votes to achieve a filibuster-proof majority. That leaves sovereignty—either independence or with a compact of free association—as the only realistic path to decolonize Puerto Rico.
The undersigned Puerto Rican organizations stand ready to work with this committee on any proposal that can advance freedom and justice for the Puerto Rican people, as we strongly believe this would be the optimal path for both our countries.
Respectfully,
Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora
Power 4 Puerto Rico
CC:
Chairman Bruce Westerman, House Committee on Natural Resources
Ranking Member Jared Huffman, House Committee on Natural Resources