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Puerto Rico's Governor visits Tampa
Justin Matthews reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi visited Tampa over the weekend for the first time since he was elected in 2021.
His goal for the trip was to work with community and political leaders and spread the message that a new Puerto Rico is emerging.
"We’re American citizens, and it’s a new Puerto Rico. The last couple of years, we have seen solid economic growth, and unemployment is at the lowest level it’s been in our history," Governor Pierluisi said while at a press event at Hotel Haya in Ybor City.
The governor says he is in town to change the conversation about Puerto Rico.
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"I understand that some simply remember Maria and the devastation, the lack of agile response then, but that’s behind us."
Governor Pierluisi says funding from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has helped the island fix up its infrastructure, with nearly 6,000 homes rebuilt.
He also says finishing all the construction that’s needed is still seven to eight years down the line, but the recovery is happening. With that, the governor says his visit to Florida was aimed at continuing his life’s mission to achieve statehood for the U.S. territory.
That brings partisan challenges with it. Republicans have historically not supported Puerto Rican becoming a state.
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Governor Pierluisi says he’s focusing on the Democratic-controlled Senate to get the wheels turning on making Puerto Rico the 51st state.
"My impression is that a lot of Republican members of Congress see Puerto Rico as a liberal or progressive state in the making, and I have to say, and I am a Democrat, that I disagree. Puerto Rico is pretty much like the US at large," Governor Pierluisi said.
If Puerto Rico became a state, it would have two senators and about four representatives in Congress.
Governor Pierluisi says Puerto Rico leaders would likely come from both sides of the aisle. He hopes action will happen soon.