island and throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, In November 2015, Puerto Rican leaders and allies in
Philadelphia met to discuss how Pennsylvania would engage in
this important education campaign and to organize PA 4 PR, as a
local call to action for Pennsylvania, asking community leaders,
clergy, elected officials and allies to join the national call
to action; and
WHEREAS, On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, hundreds of Puerto
Rican community leaders from Pennsylvania and across the country
traveled to Washington, DC, in a national call to action and
hosted a press conference and a full lobbying day with members
of Congress to promote a national Puerto Rican agenda and call
for congressional action to pass the following reforms of
bankruptcy and debt restructuring protections, health care
equity and tax reform before their holiday recess; and
WHEREAS, On Thursday, January 7, 2016, a Pennsylvania
Statewide PA 4 PR meeting was held in the City of Lancaster,
Lancaster County, to unify national Latino and civil rights
organizations, labor, women, LGBT, African-American and faith-
based entities in respectfully asking the Congress and the
President of the United States to address the humanitarian and
fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico and the inequalities against 3.5
million United States citizens. This crisis is emotional, moral,
economic, political and social to many of us. Understanding the
historic past and our moral obligation today to declare an
absolute repudiation to congressional neglect to Puerto Rico and
its citizens is a reflection of humanity and solidarity; and
WHEREAS, We need to act now to extend equal treatment to
Puerto Rico and its American citizens, 3.5 million who reside on
the island and 5 million in the Diaspora in the United States
20160HR0693PN2851 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30