Christian Lheureux writes


Michael wrote after me :

> Puerto Ricans, Virgin Islanders, American Samoans, Guamanians 
> are all American citizens.  Puerto Rico, the US Virgin 
> Islands, American Samoa and Guam are sovereign US territories 
> with various degrees of self-goverment.  Even though they 
> cannot vote for president, they all send a representative to 
> Congress, delegates to the Democratic and Republican 
> conventions, are subject to federal laws and have complete 
> unhibited movement to and from the mainland.  Economically 
> they are exempt from some income tax laws and their is not 
> full duty free status between them and the mainland US.

The site I mentioned in my original message explicitly states that Puerto Ricans do not have a representation in the US Congress. Since the site is covered by a 2003 copyright, I assume its information is current ... which still does not prove I'm 100% right.

> In regards to Christian's question, consider them to be the 
> equivalent of French Guiana, Ile de Saint-Pierre, Ile de 
> Miquelon and other French Overseas Territories.

This is not exactly the same status. The French  Territories mentioned by Michael are all "départements", which is the denomination for all territories with the same status as the mainland (itself composed of 94 "départements", plus 2 in Corsica). That means these territories have duty-free trade status with the mainland, etc. The only difference is that some tax brackets are lower, as far as income tax, VAT and excise are concerned. The residents of these "départements" have exactly the same electoral rights and the same representation as those of the mainland (which, btw, we call "métropole"), they vote for the President, for the National Assembly (the lower house of our Parliament), and so on.

However, some French Territories are NOT départements, and, as such, may have a different status : French Polynesia, Kerguelen Islands and other Austral (south Indian Ocean) territories, Clipperton (quiz : where is it ?), Terre Adélie (the French slice of Antarctica), and a few others I may forget. In that respect, their status vs. the French mainland may be more comparable to what I understand about Puerto Rico vs. the 50 US States.
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Well the source is not entirely correct.  The above territories and the District of Columbia elect a single representative to the House of Representatives.  The member is part of and can vote in committee, but cannot vote with the full house.

Here are the representatives:

 American Samoa:  http://www.house.gov/faleomavaega/

 DC:              http://www.house.gov/norton/

 Guam:            http://www.house.gov/bordallo/

 Puerto Rico:     http://www.house.gov/acevedo-vila/

 Virgin Islands:  http://www.house.gov/christian-christensen/

Mike Berkowitz
Guess? Inc.

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