EMERSON OPPOSES REDEFINING PUERTO RICO

WASHINGTON -- A close House vote breathed new life into a Puerto Rican movement to turn the largely Spanish-speaking commonwealth into America's 51st state.

Puerto Rican "statehooders" were jubilant following the House action late Wednesday, even though many obstacles remain before any final status change, including Senate action, votes by bitterly divided Puerto Ricans and a 10-year transition period.

"This is a great day in America, not just for Hispanics, for Puerto Ricans, but for all U.S. Citizens," said Xavier Romeu, the Caribbean commonwealth governor's representative in the 50 states.

A back-burner issue that caught many House members and much of the country by surprise, the Puerto Rican question culminated in 12 hours of debate and a tense showdown as members switched votes in the final seconds for a 209-208 victory.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson voted against the bill.

"The bill is another instance where the devil is in the details," she said.

The Cape Girardeau Republican said the unemployment rate in Puerto Rico is more than double the national average. More than half of the island's residents receive some sort of federal assistance, she said.

With such poverty, federal assistance funding could increase by 50 percent and cost the U.S. nearly $9 billion a year, Emerson said.

She said the bill lacks strong wording to make English the official language in Puerto Rico.

"Three-fourths of the population in Puerto Rico oppose adopting English as the sole official language.

"We have seen how difficult it is to provide effective government services in multiple languages and the problems that can result from that practice," she said.

Opponents tried everything from grumbling about squeezing 51 stars onto the American flag to trying to impose official English on a territory of 3.8 million U.S. citizens where Spanish is more widely spoken and taught.

"There were simply too many provisions that have the potential to inflict damaging economic consequences on the United States," she said.

"What's more, the bill did nothing to protect the integrity of the English language -- one of the fundamentals that binds America as a nation," Emerson said.

The legislation would give Puerto Ricans three choices in a referendum to be held before the end of the year, the island's 100th anniversary as U.S. territory.

The three options on the ballot: continued commonwealth status, statehood and independence.

Congress would be required to follow any plebiscite vote for change by its own vote on a 10-year plan for transition to either statehood or independence. Then Congress and Puerto Ricans would have to vote again on the final change.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.