Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló vowed on Monday to campaign next year in midterm elections against members of Congress who pledged disaster aid to the island, but also vote in favor of the Republican tax bill that he says will bring economic doom to the territory, according to The Hill.
"We will not stay quiet or still," Rosselló tweeted in Spanish. "This next year is a congressional election year and I will be visiting all those jurisdictions to let them know what some of these members of Congress did, saying one thing and doing another."
Rosselló's government led a push to convince the GOP to alter provisions in the tax bill negatively affecting Puerto Rico, but the requested changes were not accepted by Republicans who wrote the final bill in the House-Senate conference last week.
The governor explained to The Boston Globe that the main problem is that the tax legislation treats Puerto Rico as a foreign jurisdiction, meaning its exports to the mainland would face significant new taxes.
"Are you really going to penalize Puerto Rico . . . at our worst possible time?" he said.
Rosselló's actions could make a difference in numerous congressional districts.
The exodus of Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens free to live and work stateside, has increased substantially since the hurricane and is expected to continue at a high pace if the island's economy does not recover.
This could alter the electoral demographics in swing states like Florida.
In addition, Puerto Rican migrants have also relocated in Republican strongholds such as Texas.
There are approximately 5.5 million Americans of Puerto Rican origin living in the United States, while about 3.4 million Puerto Ricans live on the island.
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