Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
Incumbent Jenniffer González since January 3, 2017
United States House of Representatives
Seat	Puerto Rico
Term length	Four years, renewable[1]
Formation	January 2, 1900
First holder	Federico Degetau
Website	gonzalez-colon.house.gov

The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Comisionado Residente de Puerto Rico) is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico every four years,^[1] the only member of the House of Representatives who serves a four-year term.

Commissioners function in every respect as a member of Congress, including sponsoring legislation and serving on congressional committees, where they can vote on legislation,^[2] except that they are denied a vote on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor.^[3] They receive a salary of $174,000 per year^[4] and are identified as Member of Congress.^[2]

The current commissioner is Jenniffer González-Colón of the New Progressive Party (PNP), the first woman to hold the post.^[1] She is also affiliated with the Republican Party (R) at the national level.

Other U.S. territories have a similar representative position called a delegate.

History[]

The United States Congress had seated non-voting "delegates" from various territories since 1794 as the country expanded across North America; these territories were all eventually admitted as states. The position of delegate was a legislative position with a two-year term, just like a member of Congress.^[5]

The United States acquired several overseas possessions as a result of the Spanish–American War. While the House of Representatives voted in 1900 for Puerto Rico to select a delegate, Congress instead devised a new form of territorial representative in the Resident Commissioner. United States Senator John Coit Spooner argued that granting a territory a delegate implied that it was on the path to statehood, which he asserted was not guaranteed for the new possessions acquired in the war, such as Puerto Rico and the Philippines.^[5] In fact, more than a century later, neither has become a state. (Puerto Rico remains a U.S. territory, while The Philippines became an independent republic in 1946.)

The original Resident Commissioner positions served a two-year term,^[6] though it was later extended to four years starting in 1920.^[7][5][8] The position also had executive responsibility in addition to legislative ones. The term had been used as to parts of the British Empire (see Resident Commissioner), but in an almost opposite sense; sent or recognized as the Crown's representative to manage a territory. American Resident Commissioner always refers to a representative of a territory to the national government.^[5]

This representation has evolved over time. At first, the resident commissioner could not even be present on the floor of the House of Representatives; floor privileges were granted in 1902.^[5] In 1904, the officeholder gained the right to speak during debate and serve on the Committee on Insular Affairs, which had responsibility for the territories gained in the Spanish-American War.^[5]

In 1933, Resident Commissioner Santiago Iglesias was appointed to additional committees, and each of his successors has served on other committees also.^[5] But only in 1970 did the Resident Commissioner gain the right to vote in committees, gain seniority, or hold leadership positions.^[5]

The present-day Resident Commissioner, like the delegates from other territories and the District of Columbia, have almost all of the rights of other House members, including being able to sponsor bills and offer amendments and motions.^[5] Territorial representatives remain unable to vote on matters before the full House.

Summary of commissioners[]

Puerto Rico's at-large congressional district[]

Puerto Rico's at-large congressional district
Resident Commissioner	Jenniffer Gonzalez[a] R–San Juan
Area	3,515 sq mi (9,100 km2)
Population (2019)	3,193,694
Median household income	14,412
Ethnicity	80.5% Hispanic 8.5% Black 6.8% White 3.6% other 0.4% Native American 0.2% Asian
Occupation	67.9% White-collar 20.5% Blue-collar 11.6% Gray-collar

Puerto Rico's at-large congressional district is the largest congressional district by population in all of the United States. This is because Puerto Rico is not a state, but a territory. Hence, Puerto Rico does not elect any House Representative. So, it is represented by a single non-voting resident commissioner in the United States House of Representatives, irrespective of its population. The current resident commissioner is Jenniffer González.

List of resident commissioners pre-Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico[]

Resident Commissioner	Party	U.S. Affiliation	Years	Cong– ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1901
Federico Degetau y González	Republican	Republican	March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1905	57th 58th	. . Retired.
Tulio Larrínaga	Unionist	[data unknown/missing]	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1911	59th 60th 61st	. . . Retired.
Luis Muñoz Rivera	Unionist	[data unknown/missing]	March 4, 1911 – November 15, 1916	62nd 63rd 64th	. . . . Died.
Vacant			November 16, 1916 – August 6, 1917	64th 65th
Félix L. M. Córdova Dávila	Unionist	[data unknown/missing]	August 7, 1917 – April 11, 1932	65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	Elected to finish Rivera's term. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1928. Resigned to become Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
Vacant			April 12, 1932 – April 14, 1932	72nd
José Lorenzo Pesquera	Independent	[data unknown/missing]	April 15, 1932 – March 3, 1933	72nd	Elected to finish Dávila's term. Retired.
Santiago Iglesias Pantín	Socialist	[data unknown/missing]	March 4, 1933 – December 5, 1939	73rd 74th 75th 76th	Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1936. Died.
Vacant			December 5, 1939 – December 26, 1939	76th
Bolívar Pagán	Republican Union	[data unknown/missing]	December 26, 1939 – January 3, 1945	76th 77th 78th	Appointed to finish Pantín's term. Elected in 1940. Retired.
Jesús T. Piñero Jiménez	Popular Democratic	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – September 2, 1946	79th	Elected in 1944. Resigned to become Governor of Puerto Rico.

Resident commissioners under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico[]

   Popular Democratic Party (6)
   New Progressive Party (6)

US Party Affiliation

   Democratic Party (10)
   Republican Party (2)

№	Resident Commissioner	Party	Affiliation within U.S. politics	Years	Cong– ress	Electoral history
1	Antonio Fernós-Isern	Popular Democratic	Democratic	September 11, 1946 – January 3, 1965 18 years, 23 days	79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th	Appointed to finish Piñero's term. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1960. Retired.
2	Santiago Polanco Abreu	Popular Democratic	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969 4 years, 0 days	89th 90th	Elected in 1964. Lost re-election.
3	Jorge Luis Córdova	New Progressive	Democratic	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973 4 years, 0 days	91st 92nd	Elected in 1968. Lost re-election.
4	Jaime Benítez	Popular Democratic	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977 4 years, 0 days	93rd 94th	Elected in 1972. Lost re-election.
5	Baltasar Corrada del Río	New Progressive	Democratic	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1985 8 years, 0 days	95th 96th 97th 98th	Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1980. Retired to run for mayor of San Juan.
6	Jaime Fuster	Popular Democratic	Democratic	January 3, 1985 – March 3, 1992 7 years, 2 months	99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1988. Resigned to become Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
7	Antonio Colorado	Popular Democratic	Democratic	March 4, 1992 – January 3, 1993 305 days	102nd	Appointed to finish Fuster's term. Lost election to full term.
8	Carlos Romero Barceló	New Progressive	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001 8 years, 0 days	103rd 104th 105th 106th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1996. Lost re-election.
9	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá	Popular Democratic	Democratic	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2005 4 years, 0 days	107th 108th	Elected in 2000. Retired to run for Governor of Puerto Rico.
10	Luis Fortuño	New Progressive	Republican	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2009 4 years, 0 days	109th 110th	Elected in 2004. Retired to run for Governor of Puerto Rico.
11	Pedro Pierluisi	New Progressive	Democratic	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2017 8 years, 0 days	111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2012. Retired to run for Governor of Puerto Rico.
12	Jenniffer González	New Progressive	Republican	January 3, 2017 – present	115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2020.

Recent elections[]

2000[]

2004[]

2008[]

2012[]

2016[]

2020[]

See also[]

• List of United States congressional districts
• Resident Commissioners from the Philippines

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]