Celebrating the Centennial of Women's Suffrage

Mr/Madam Speaker, on June 4th we will be celebrating 100 years since Congress passed the 19thAmendment, which correctly recognized women's right to vote.

At that time, only one woman had served in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, but today we have more women serving in this body than ever before.

In this proud moment for both women and our nation's history, we also honor the suffragists, who more than a century ago, paved the way that allows women to take part in the democratic process and that also allow me to stand here as the first woman elected to represent Puerto Rico in Congress.

Because of our territorial status, Puerto Rico has been historically excluded from our national processes, including the 19thamendment ratification process.

Prior of becoming a U.S. territory in 1898, Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony, and people on the island advocated for political equality for women, beginning with the right to education.

But it wasnt long after becoming a U.S. territory that Susan B. Anthony advocated for equal political and civil rights for men and women in the new possessions, including Puerto Rico.

This advance in civil rights was one of the first reasons why people on the island began to fight for the conversion of Puerto Rico as a state of the Union.

It was the leaders of the Republican Party who first included women's right to vote as part of their platform, and they also presented legislation to achieve it.

As the measure did not progress, our suffragists sought support from national organizations and the United States Congress, which introduced legislation extending women's right to vote to Puerto Rico.

Finally, in 1929, the Puerto Rico legislature recognized the right to vote but only to literate women; and in 1935 the right to vote was granted to all women.

This series of events led to the election of María Luisa Arcelay, who became the first woman in Puerto Rico to be elected to a government legislative body.

However, Mr/Madam Speaker, because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, despite being U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans cannot vote for US President, and they are also denied voting representation in Congress.

While this Congress is legislating to extend benefits to women, I often must raise my voice and advocate for these rights to be extended to the territories like Puerto Rico that still lack, at a general level, full equality in relation to the states.

We are still fighting for equal pay for equal work, for being able to walk safely without fear of sexual harassment, for eradicating gender violence, for having more access to where decisions are made, for having more representation in different fields such as science, arts, sports, business, economics.

As we rejoice and celebrate progress in equality for women, I ask my colleagues to be reminded that our job continues, and much more remains to be done to achieve true equality for all Americans.

Thank you and I yield back.