The Puerto Rico Democracy Act is a bill to provide for a federally sanctioned self-determination process for the people of Puerto Rico. This act would provide for plebiscites to be held in Puerto Rico to determine the island's ultimate political status. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on April 29, 2010 by a recorded vote of 223–169. It was not approved by the Senate and died with the sine die adjournment of the 111th Congress. The bill has been introduced twice in the United States Congress, first in 2007 and again in 2009. Background Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. It was ceded by Spain to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris during the Spanish–American War. In 1952, the U.S. Congress ratified the Constitution of Puerto Rico, proclaiming Puerto Rico as an insular commonwealth. However, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico continued to be under territorial status subject to United States congressional authority according to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that Congress has the authority "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory belonging to the United States." This status has been subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the United Nations. Three non-binding plebiscites have been held in recent decades in Puerto Rico to gauge the will of its people for a change in its current political status, but no changes have taken place as it requires an Act of the U.S. Congress to change Puerto Rico's political status. Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007 The 2007 bill, () was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on February 7, 2007 by Congressman José Serrano (D-New York). The bill would have provided for a referendum to be held no later than December 31, 2009. The referendum would have given Puerto Ricans the choice between the options of retaining their present political status, or choosing a new status. If the former option were to win, the referendum would have been held again every 8 years. If the latter option were to win, a separate referendum would have been held no later than December 31, 2011. In this referendum, Puerto Ricans would have been given the option of being admitted as a U.S. State "on equal footing with the other states,"