While the U.S. House of Representatives was reading the Constitution yesterday it also was stripping the floor voting rights of delegates from U.S. territories, most of which are communities of color.
One of the few real business matters the GOP-controlled house did yesterday was to deny the mostly symbolic vote that delegates, from Puerto Rico, District of Colombia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the North Mariana Islands and American Samoa, have. The GOP-led action could result in less funding for those territories and directly affects 4 million Puerto Ricans alone.
Republicans justify the move by referring to the Constitution, which they clearly know since they spent hours reading it on the floor, states the House of Representatives is made up of “state representatives” not delegates.
Federal courts have back up the Democratic position when Republicans in the past took the territories vote away before and it was challenged in court.
