Puerto Rico House holds special session to mark U.S. 250th anniversary; approves slate of resolutions and hears calls for statehood

The House of Representatives convened a special session at 10:36 a.m. in the hemicycle to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding, receive visiting officials and consider a calendar of special-order resolutions. The session included prayers, musical presentations and formal approvals of multiple chamber resolutions.

House President Carlos Johnny Méndez Núñez framed the commemoration as both a tribute to veterans and as a moment to press for political equality for Puerto Ricans. Méndez Núñez reviewed historical references to the Jones Act and U.S. service by Puerto Ricans and said the island’s status remains unresolved. “La voz de los puertorriqueños reclamando la estadidad para Puerto Rico, tiene que ser respetada,” he said, urging renewed commitment to “admitir a Puerto Rico como estado de la unión sin más atrasos.”

The governor, Jennifer González Colón, joined the remarks and praised the chamber’s program while making a humanitarian appeal: she cited recent deaths in Venezuela and asked attendees and viewers to pray for the victims and their families as relief efforts continue. “Que los próximos 250 años los podamos celebrar, pero ya como un estado de la nación americana,” she said, reiterating the call for statehood in remarks that tied the anniversary to equal access to federal programs and benefits.

On the calendar, the House read and approved a sequence of special-order resolutions and related amendments across a range of policy areas — including education, public safety, housing and natural resources — by voice vote or consensus. Several items were amended in text or title and then approved; the chamber also recorded concurrence or non-concurrence with amendments transmitted by the Senate and designated conference-committee members where required.

Procedural actions included a motion to postpone approval of the June 25, 2026 minutes and multiple motions of felicitation and recognition presented by members to citizens, athletes and municipal officials. The chamber formally received partial and final committee reports (for example on labor and women’s affairs) and instructed the secretary to distribute those reports to the relevant agencies for follow-up.

The session observed protocol changes to allow photographers in the hemicycle for the special event (with a restriction barring interviews inside the chamber), recognized visiting Supreme Court justices, mayors, consular officials and veterans in the gallery, and included a musical performance by the Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan. The House recessed for brief periods and concluded the special session after escorting the governor from the chamber.

What happened next: the presiding officers set a brief recess before resuming ordinary business later the same day; committee referrals and the distribution of reports to agencies were ordered as part of the regular administrative follow-up.