Making an adamant plea for an end to Puerto Rico's status as a common-wealth of the United States, Governor Pedro Rossello of Puerto Rico spoke last night before a packed audience at the ARCO Forum at the Institute of Politics (IOP).

Rossello's speech came two days after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the battleship Maine, an incident which triggered the Spanish-American War in which Puerto Rico came under U.S. control.

Rossello said that many Puerto Ricans feel excluded from the United States and want their homeland to be granted statehood.

"The people of Puerto Rico remain disenfranchised stepchildren within the great American family," he said.

The governor pointed out that Puerto Ricans had died in wars fought by the United States and have been U.S. citizens by birth since 1917 but still are denied rights afforded to other Americans because of their colonial status.

Rossello expressed hope that the U.S. government might help make it easier for Puerto Rico change is status in the near future.

"I am an optimist by nature, and in 1998, I have solid grounds for optimism," he said.

"We the people of Puerto Rico are about to make the most of a long overdue date with destiny," he later added.

According to Rossello, the beginning of the resolution of the issues surrounding Puerto Rico's status is now in the hands of Congress. "The Young Bill," or H.R. 856, will be brought to the House floor in the next few weeks.

Part of legislation drafted by Representative Don Young of Alaska, the bill establishes periodic referenda on the island's status until it is settled.

The bill is "the most appropriate and constructive step the Federal Government could take," Rossello said.

Rossello said that the bill has many co-sponsors from both political parties, including Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Democratic House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.

President Clinton is also committed to the proposition, Rossello said.

Rossello used much of his speech to refute what he saw as the major arguments against changing Puerto Rico's status.

Countering the claim that Puerto Rico would become a "welfare state" dependent on the U.S., he quoted a study co-authored by Glenn P. Jenkins, director of the International Tax Program at Harvard Law School.