Republic of Palau, the U.S. provides those countries with defense protection and various forms of economic aid. If the "sovereign association" language proposed in H.R. 2499 is viewed as something akin to free association, the future relationship between the U.S. and an independent Puerto Rico could resemble the current relationships between the United States and the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. "Sovereignty in association with the United States" might also be interpreted to mean so-called "enhanced commonwealth," an option that is not a particular territorial status or official term, but which has been a component of previous popular status debates. Generally, "enhanced commonwealth" suggests a relationship that is, essentially, something between territorial status and statehood. Recent presidential task force reports have concluded that such an option would be unconstitutional because land under United States sovereignty must either be a State or a territory, but some in Puerto Rico maintain that such a political status could be negotiated between Puerto Rico and the U.S. These are two possible interpretations of option No. 2 in the second plebiscite and, in the absence of additional information, the precise meaning of the option is unclear. Hearing On June 24, 2009, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on the bill with the participation of the Governor of Puerto Rico, and others like Jennifer Gonzalez, speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, Thomas Rivera Schatz, president of the Senate of Puerto Rico. Committee assignments Referred to the United States House Committee on Natural Resources. Committee vote The House Natural Resources Committee, led by Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), approved the bill and referred it to the United States House of Representatives floor with a 30 in favor 8 against vote. House vote On April 22, 2010, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced that H.R. 2499 would be voted on in the week of April 26, 2010. on April 29, 2010, H.R. 2499 passed the House with a 223–169 vote. Two amendments were added to H.R. 2499. The first, proposed by Virginia Foxx, stated that it "would allow supporters of the commonwealth status quo the option of voting their preference during the second stage of the plebiscite." The second, proposed by Dan Burton, stated that it "would retain the requirement that all ballots used for authorized plebiscites include the full content of the ballot printed in English" —a consideration already contemplated in Puerto