Puerto Rico's representative in the House, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón introduced the bill Wednesday that would make the territory a state "no later than January 1, 2021."
This is the second time González-Colón, who has no voting power in the House except in committees, has pushed for statehood since elected resident commissioner.
"The catastrophe left behind by Hurricanes Irma and MarÃa unmasked the reality of the unequal treatment of the American living in Puerto Rico, forcing the Executive to approve waivers and Congress to make exceptions so that we could receive help," González-Colón said in a news release Wednesday.
"My colleagues saw firsthand the effects of this unequal treatment due solely to our territorial situation. Statehood is nothing else than Equality; and this Admission Act provides the means to put into effect the values of Democracy and Respect upon which our Nation is built."
Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico's governor, echoed her.
"The fight for Puerto Rico's Equality is one of civil rights," he said in the release.
So far the bill has bipartisan support and currently 37 co-sponsors -- a majority of which are Republicans.
The Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 proposes creating a bipartisan task force -- the Congressional Task Force on Equality for American Citizens of Puerto Rico -- of nine members to help with the transition and make recommendations to Congress
