SECTION 936 WILL NOT WORK FOR PUERTO RICO

Jeffrey Farrow, who led the President’s Interagency Groups on Puerto Rico and the other territories under President Clinton, also worked in the White House on territory policy under President Carter, was Staff Director of the U.S. House subcommittee on territories in between, and advised Hillary Clinton and other democratic presidential candidates on Puerto Rico, recently wrote the following in response to an e-mail:
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August 21, 2017
Jeffrey Farrow's Response to email sent to him:

The Section 936 proposal will, ultimately, not work now and will only do damage by making it more difficult to get done things that can be done and can help most Puerto Ricans.

A new 936 would be a major impediment to equality for most Puerto Ricans but it would also do relatively little for their economy — vs. the economies of the few and some special interests. 

It would be contrary to what tax reform efforts are trying to accomplish, and I don’t think it will become law, but it is a serious threat because there is substantial desire to do something to help PR economically, people will be misled into thinking it would help, and it will take attention away from measures that really would help and are viable.   

I don’t think one can compare co-sponsorship of Res. Comm. Gonzalez-Colon’s first-day statehood bill with the cosponsorships of bills of Congressmen Pierluisi and Fortuno. The bills and circumstances are different — and she hasn’t tried to get cosponsors. It didn’t make sense to before the plebiscite. The bill related to the plebiscite provided for by Federal law, so it needs to be amended anyway.

I also think its very clear that Jenniffer Gonzalez identifies equality and statehood as the only real economic solution for Puerto Rico nd says this in Congress. Further, her economic agenda is very compatible with statehood.  

But I appreciate your calling attention to latest new 936 effort. The same forces have been pushing for this since 2002 and have repeatedly failed with Federal officials of both national parties - just as many of the same people have failed to gain acceptance of a “commonwealth” status. They misstate why 936 was sunset, which obscures why their new 936 proposal will, ultimately, not work now and will only do damage by making it more difficult to get done things that can be done and can help most Puerto Ricans.