Good Afternoon to all and thank you for your invitation. It is an honor to be here to share my thoughts and ideas with such a distinguished group of members of the Rotary Clubs of San Juan and Santurce.
My first goal for today is for you to get to know me and what I stand for. Then I’ll try and get your vote!
But seriously, now, I’d like to tell you about why I decided to accept this challenge. Some of you might think I’m crazy for leaving a successful law practice to get myself into our discredited political scene. Yet, I would hope most of you appreciate and understand why I’m doing this since the Rotary tradition
is one of ample commitment to our community.
I was comfortable at my law firm. This is probably the most productive stage of my career.
However, having served Puerto Rico as Secretary of Justice, it was impossible for me to stand
idle while watching the direction of our future run amok. I could not be a spectator any longer.
Action rather than words are what I want for Puerto Rico. And Puerto Rico cannot tolerate more
empty words. It needs action. It needs results. People from different sectors of our society need to stand up and offer their expertise. Everyone needs to contribute and take on the responsibility of building a progressive Puerto Rico. Distinguished organizations such as yours are already involved in the betterment of our community. My challenge to you is to do more. We cannot be at the mercy of a government that is incapable, inefficient and content with mediocrity. Turning this situation around for true progress is what I offer to do now. This is where my passion and drive come from. It is a deep commitment to contribute and to take responsibility for what I want our island to be, what I want to
leave our children.
The position of Resident Commissioner suits me well. I began my professional life in Washington
as an aide to Baltasar Corrada del Río. Thereafter, I practiced law in the nation’s capital for 6 years.
After returning to Puerto Rico and accepting the position of Secretary of Justice, my involvement with Washington intensified. Lobbying Congress for participation in law enforcement programs such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area designation was an essential part of my strategy as Justice Secretary. The White House recruited me to lobby influential members of Congress in favor of Bill Clinton’s Crime Bill, which after its approval resulted in major resources for the fight against crime in Puerto Rico. So it seems appropriate that I have chosen this position to return to public service.
Let me now take this opportunity to talk to you about my priorities. I want to get more specific about what I would do as your Resident Commissioner. While my plans and platform are still being shaped
by input from all sectors in Puerto Rico, let me outline my 5-point plan to establish the areas in which I will focus.
As an attorney, Justice has always been my guide. When I served as Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Justice, I strived to achieve it for all our people. Searching for what is right, what is the right thing to
do, is what brings me to this crossroads. I am one of you, I am a Puerto Rican worried about the steep decline in our quality of life. I have the same concerns you do about how to reverse the downward spiral of our social order.
As such, I have named my plan Justice for All, focusing on five areas of critical importance to the
future of Puerto Rico.
- Crime
- Economic Development and Tax Reform
- Education
- Social Justice
- Political Equality
I know these are your priorities as well. I am convinced these areas need urgent and decisive action stemming from new leadership. From Washington, I will impact each of these areas accessing all programs, funds and other resources that should be available to us as American Citizens. They are clearly areas that affect our right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I will demand our civil rights, I will fight for each Puerto Rican’s rights.
Crime is clearly the principal concern of our people. Today we again suffer from a dramatic rise in crime. Yet the agencies responsible for dealing with this issue are at odds with each other. There is lack of cooperation between them. The local Justice Department is suing the Federal authorities, the Comptroller’s office is ignored, the Special Independent Prosecutor’s Office is inactive, and the Police Department is not given the resources it needs for the fight against crime. During my tenure at the Justice Department, I promoted intense coordination among all crime fighting agencies operating on the island. All these departments need to be working together to tackle these issues. My main goal will be to promote and obtain the necessary federal funding for an effective federal-state interagency alliance that will provide peace and security of all our families. This is justice for all Puerto Ricans.
Secondly, economic development is the key to improving the our people’s quality of life. However,
our economy is in a recession. For the first time in our modern history, the U.S. economy is steadily growing while Puerto Rico’s economic growth remains stagnant. In response, our government continues to do the same thing over and over but expects a different result. Our tax system punishes our salaried employees. Moreover, our corporate tax rates are the highest in the developing world while our economy is not even growing. This makes absolutely no sense! To add insult to injury, we are still awaiting the sweeping tax relief offered to us with the sales tax. Yet it never will arrive with
the current administration. Tax Reform will definitely be a top priority for me as Resident Commissioner.
From Washington I will continue Luis Fortuño’s efforts to provide incentives to companies investing in Puerto Rico through legislation such as the National Enterprise Zones bill that was recently introduced by Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño. In addition, I will continue to find ways to guarantee the economic stability that will attract these investments so our island can compete with other jurisdictions in job creation, tourism and the service industry. This is justice for all our working people.
Thirdly, education is indispensable to our future. This is one of most fundamental rights of our children. It cannot be taken away from them. The failure of our Education Department defines the failures of our society. The amount of federal funds earmarked for education in Puerto Rico boggles the mind when you think of the state of ineffectiveness in that department. And what’s worse, many funds are either wasted or unused and returned. The reputation of our local department in Washington is disastrous.
It is an embarrassment for all Puerto Ricans, to the point that we are being refused funds because we fail to fill our forms on time. My plan will ensure that all available funds are being accessed and used justly by the Government of Puerto Rico This is crucial to the success of the educational reform that Luis Fortuño and I will promote after 2008. And the time has come for our children to have the tools
that will enable them to succeed in a global economy.
Furthermore, let me be unmistakably clear on this point. It is time to remove the teaching of English from the political discussion. All our students deserve to be able to communicate in both of our official languages because it is the right thing to do for them to prosper. Speaking Spanish and English does not negate our culture, instead it enriches it and provides better opportunities to all of us. Countries like China, Mongolia and Chile are all promoting English by sponsoring a bilingual education. For us it is even more important. This is justice for all our young people.
Social justice is another important area for the life of our citizens. The level of civility of our people
can be measured by how we treat our disadvantaged; how we treat the handicapped, the poor, the elderly, the children and single mothers, the minorities, and others. We need to provide for their needs and fight for their inclusion in federal programs that are now inaccessible to Puerto Ricans or that have an unfair cap. We, as a society, need to help those that can become integrated into the workforce by providing the opportunities they need and by making it economically viable to work instead of staying home with social help. This is where the third sector organizations, such as non-profit and religious associations help our government the most; and we need to provide them with all the resources and support possible. We also need to make health insurance accessible to everyone and this needs to include the funds from Medicaid and SSI that are not available to Puerto Rico. In Washington, our disadvantaged will have a strong ally in me. This is social justice for all.
And probably the most important aspect of my job a Resident Commissioner will be to finally and permanently achieve political equality for our people. I see some of you rolling your eyes at the never-ending status discussion. But I submit to you that the status issue permeates every aspect of our life, including our economic development. It is time to put it to rest. We cannot continue this stagnation and political instability. It has become too divisive and it distracts our leaders from solving our problems by resting on our colonial status. Private sector leaders have complained for too long that Puerto Rico lacks a plan for sustained growth. Indeed, since the 1970’s, our island has experienced decidedly unimpressive economic growth. They say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”…well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re really broke and we have to fix it. My plan is to continue the fight to resolve the decades long issue of status.
Statehood is obviously my choice; it seems incredible that in the 21st century our people do not participate fully in the United States democratic process to which we are subject and which impacts our lives daily. It is time to demand that the U.S. Congress become directly involved in solving this matter. Together we must own our political destiny.
These, in general, are my priorities. These are my passions and motivations.
Nevertheless, I still have a lot of work to do. I have a lot of listening to do from all sectors of our society. And I ask for your help in contributing your ideas and concerns so that this campaign is one that truly represents the pressing needs of our people. I challenge you to get more involved in this political process, to impact its direction, to guide it with your expertise so that we can all be a part of a more progressive Puerto Rico.
I stand before you, a passionate man, a man convinced that change is in the making and that all of us must be part of it. I count on your support.
Thank all you very much.
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