Decades-long debates surrounding D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam statehood have been reignited. What's the best option?

The decades-long conversation around statehood for Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico has been ramping up in Congress. A bill granting statehood to the District of Columbia passed in the House of Representatives on April 22, though it faces slim odds in the split Senate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. territory Puerto Rico has two current options: the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act and the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act.

Introduced in March by Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., the Statehood Admission Act would grant the island statehood.

"We hear pleas of equality from our fellow Americans back on the island," Soto said. "And we must recognize that a majority has asked us for statehood, and we must respect it."

The Self-Determination Act would place the decision and conversation surrounding statehood into the hands of elected delegates and federal officials. That bill was first introduced in 2007 and reintroduced to the House in March by New York Democratic Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

No pending legislation for another U.S. territory to become a new state has been drafted, but Guam officials have called for statehood, while others on the Pacific island have marched for independence and self-determination.

The 51st state? DC statehood bill passes House for second time, legislation moves to split Senate

Statehood statuses: Could DC, Puerto Rico become the next US states? Here's what Congress is considering

Why vote for statehood?

Supporters of statehood in all three territories push the same argument: Without representation in Congress, the residents have a limited voice.

Puerto Rican and Guam residents are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote for president and do not have a voting member in Congress. District of Columbia residents also do not have a voting representative in Congress, but they can vote for president.

"Washingtonians ... pay taxes, fight in our wars, contribute to the economic life of our country. But for centuries, they have been denied their right to representation,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference April 21.

Democrats view statehood for the district and its 46% Black population as a civil rights issue directly disenfranchising residents.

In a 2016 referendum, 79% of D.C. residents voted in favor of a petition to become a state. The overwhelming support for statehood is the highest margin of support when compared with Puerto Rico and Guam residents.

With about 55% voter turnout, 52.34% of Puerto Ricans voted yes to statehood in a plebiscite in November, according to Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission.

Victoria Colón, who lives in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, told USA TODAY her support for statehood stems from wanting equal access to benefits, assistance and money available to residents on the mainland.

Although Puerto Ricans don’t pay federal income taxes, they pay payroll taxes that fund federal programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. States are given open-ended funding to those programs, while Puerto Rico has a spending cap.

“I was born and raised and will forever stay on this island, but I want us to get better. We’re Americans and should be given the same access to those on the mainland,” Colón said.

Similar to Colón’s argument, Tina Rose Muña Barnes, a senator in the Guam Legislature, told USA TODAY that statehood would end the federal government's ability to exclude or limit Guam residents from benefit programs.

“On a personal note, I am a proud American who favors a closer political relationship with the United States. That said, I also support our people's right to self-determination, meaning the right to determine, for ourselves, what our future political status should be,” Muña Barnes said. “At the end of the day, this is an issue for the community as a whole to decide, not any one or small group of individuals.”

Unlike D.C. and Puerto Rico, Guam native residents were denied a political status plebiscite.

The plebiscite, where residents would vote for independence, statehood or free association with the United States, was ruled as illegally race-based and violates constitutional protections by the federal courts, according to Pacific Daily News.

Guam native Vicky Duenas told USA TODAY an island-wide plebiscite would prove residents seek closer ties to the U.S.

If not statehood, then what?

Efraín Vázquez-Vera, a University of Puerto Rico professor and former assistant secretary of state of the island, said there are no “pleas” for statehood from Puerto Ricans as Soto said.

Puerto Rican’s focus is on the economic recession, COVID-19 pandemic and rising unemployment rates, Vázquez-Vera told USA TODAY. He argued that a plebiscite that accounted for only 55% of the island isn’t a fair assessment of the entire island’s opinion.

But he added that the Self-Determination Act is a step in the right direction if the delegates are lawyers and civil workers rather than politicians.

“The decision and conversation should come from working Puerto Ricans, not the politicians who have misused funds and have been historically corrupt,” Vázquez-Vera said in Spanish.

The argument against statehood for D.C. also comes down to politics. Republicans have called the bill a ploy to garner more Democratic votes in Congress.

The Democratic presidential nominee has captured more than 89% of the vote in the district since 2000, according to the Brookings Institute.

North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx and Tennessee Rep. James Comer, both Republicans, have voiced their concern over Democrats intentions with D.C. statehood.

"D.C. is a pawn being used by congressional Democrats to gain power," Foxx said after Mayor Muriel Bowser said the district was "more than slightly Democratic."

Meanwhile, in Guam, independence supporters argue statehood wouldn’t further Guam’s interests and economic needs.

Michael Lujan Bevacqua of the Kabesa and Bittot clans in Guam is a leader in the Guam independence movement, serving with Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero as co-chair for Independent Guåhan, a group dedicated to educating the island community about decolonization.

Their biggest argument for independence? Guam natives don’t speak for Guam; the U.S. does.

Lujan Bevacqua told USA TODAY independence would allow Guam to interact with its bordering Asian countries and participate in global conversations such as climate change and fish stocks.

To the U.S., Guam is just a “strategic military colony,” Lujan Bevacqua said. When Leon Guerrero discovered a military base was being built where ancient human remains were found, she said she was devastated.

In April, Telena Nelson, a senator in the Guam Legislature, launched an investigation into the construction of U.S. Marine Corps Camp Blaz in the village of Dededo in the northern part of the island, according to the Guardian.

Leon Guerrero said the incident showed independence is the best option for Guam. Leon Guerrero said no island or population is "too small" to govern themselves, and independence ensures Guam's needs will be prioritized.

“As an unincorporated territory, we are not able to stop the desecration of our ancestors' graves or protect our water from contamination as a result of military construction and activities on our island, which is a violation of both our human and indigenous rights," Leon Guerrero said. "Independence is the only option that will give us the ability to protect our lands and waters on our terms and have a voice in all decisions that are made for Guam.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Statehood for DC, Puerto Rico and Guam: What do their residents want?