Puerto Rico statehood bill passes House, 223-169; Update: Ballot bias towards statehood cured?

Via Cubachi, here’s Pence’s floor speech in favor of the bill. An unanswered question per yesterday’s post: Why does Congress need to act here at all? The Puerto Rican government is perfectly capable of calling its own referendums (as it’s done three times before) and Congress is perfectly capable of taking the results under advisement. No need to nudge them.

Story from HotAir-

I made the case yesterday that there’s still a long way to go before PR becomes number 51, but I doubt that’ll comfort most of our commenters. Oh well.
Proponents say the measure gives citizens of the island the right to self-determination.‬‪ ‬‪Critics say the measure is a device to impose statehood on a population that doesn’t want it.‬‪ ‬‪Thursday’s action was nonbinding, and if Puerto Ricans eventually select statehood, Congress would still have to vote to admit the island to the union as the 51st state.‬‪ ‬‪

The issue divided Democrats and Republicans alike as liberal Democrats with ties to Puerto Rico teamed with conservative Republicans to oppose the measure.
The divides were particularly stark among members of the House Republican leadership team. House Minority Leader John Boehner,R-Ohio, voted against the legislation. Meantime, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, R-Ind., voted in favor. READ MORE...