The House of Representatives today passed a bill calling for a referendum next year under which the people of Puerto Rico, governed for nearly a century by the United States, could choose statehood, independence or a continuation of their commonwealth status.
Passage of the bill, by voice vote, was a significant step, representing the first time either house of Congress has voted to hold a referendum to allow the people of Puerto Rico to help determine their political future. But it coincided with statements by an influential Senator suggesting that the legislation was highly unlikely to become law before final adjournment of the 101st Congress later this year.
Pessimism on Enactment
Senator J. Bennett Johnston, the Louisiana Democrat who is chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said, ''It has become clear that enactment of a Puerto Rico referendum bill is not possible'' in this Congress, in view of the substantial differences between the legislation introduced in the House and that in the Senate. Pending legislation dies at the end of each two-year Congress.
The House bill states the commitment of Congress to ''vote on legislation'' carrying out the will of Puerto Rico, as expressed in the referendum.
Mr. Johnston, the chief sponsor of the Puerto Rico referendum bill in the Senate, said he would renew his efforts to gain passage of the measure next year.
Representative Jose E. Serrano, a Democrat of the Bronx who was born in Puerto Rico, said Mr. Johnston's statement was ''a major disappointment to millions of Puerto Rican Americans who have waited for years with commendable patience for this fundamental right of self-determination.''
Mr. Serrano said he hoped Mr. Johnston would change his mind and ''expedite passage of a self-determination bill'' this year.
Mr. Johnston's bill has been reviewed by three Senate committees, including Mr. Johnston's, which, under Senate rules, has primary responsibility for territorial possessions of the United States. But the measure has not been considered on the Senate floor.
Columbus discovered Puerto Rico in 1493 and claimed it for Spain, which ceded the island to the United States in 1899, at the end of the Spanish-American War. After a brief period of military rule, Congress established a civil government for Puerto Rico, which since 1952 has been a ''commonwealth in free association'' with the United States.
Puerto Ricans are United States citizens, but cannot vote in Presidential elections unless they are registered in a state or the District of Columbia. They generally do not pay Federal income tax. Many United States corporations that do business in Puerto Rico are eligible for Federal tax credits.
With 3.6 million residents, the island has a larger population than about half the states. In addition, 2 million to 2.5 million Puerto Ricans live in the United States.
Puerto Rico's status is an emotional issue, in both Puerto Rico and Washington, but no opposition to the House bill was expressed in today's debate on the House floor.
Under the House bill, Puerto Rico would hold a referendum on Sept. 16, 1991, to choose among four options: independence for Puerto Rico, statehood, ''a new commonwealth relationship'' with the United States or ''none of the above.''
Under the proposed new commonwealth relationship, Puerto Rico could have more control over its own life. For example, the island might be able to ban, without Federal approval, certain imports that compete with locally grown agricultural products. And it might be able to control landing rights at airports, enabling it to open up to European airlines and serve as a hub between Europe and Latin America.
Under the House bill, the government of Puerto Rico could make arrangements for Puerto Ricans living on the United States mainland to vote in the referendum. The Legislature of Puerto Rico could permit absentee voting by nonresidents who were born in Puerto Rico or have at least one parent born there.
Message to the World
Speakers in today's debate said the proposed referendum would be a historic step, ending vestiges of the United States' colonial role in Puerto Rico. ''If this bill passes, we can tell the world that what we preach is what we practice,'' said Mr. Serrano, noting that the United States had continually preached self-determination for the people of Central America and Eastern Europe.
President Bush strongly supports the referendum and favors the statehood option. In a letter to Congress this week, he said the world was watching the political future of Puerto Rico ''to see whether the United States of America believes as much in the consent of the governed now as it did in 1776.''
An aide to Mr. Johnston said the bill approved by the House was unacceptable to the Senator because it did not precisely define the options for Puerto Rico's political status. The Senate bill, on the other hand, defines the options in detail, and if the referendum produced a majority for one alternative, that alternative would automatically go into effect without further action by Congress or the people of Puerto Rico.
The House bill leaves a number of details to be specified in the future. For example, Congress would need to write and pass legislation to carry out any option selected by the Puerto Rican people, and any legislation approved by Congress would be ''submitted to the people of Puerto Rico for ratification'' in a second referendum.
'A Historic Opportunity'
Ron de Lugo of the Virgin Islands, chairman of the House Interior Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs, said after today's vote: ''We have a historic opportunity to let the people of Puerto Rico hold a plebiscite. It would be a shame if this opportunity were lost. When you have the momentum and consensus we have built here, it would be most unwise to put off the legislation to another year.''
In an interview, Mr. de Lugo, the chief sponsor of the House bill, rejected Mr. Johnston's contention that the options in the House bill were vague.
The House bill does not say anything about how a change in Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States might affect its culture or the status of the Spanish language.
Jaime B. Fuster, the Resident Commissioner who represents Puerto Rico in the House, said the bill ''sets in motion a process whose final results no one can surely predict.'' Unfortunately, he said, ''the need to preserve and protect the Spanish language and Puerto Rican culture under the statehood option has not been addressed at all.''
But, he added, ''imperfect as it is, the bill has the potential to open up a path that will bring to an indisputable end the United States's imputed colonialistic rule of Puerto Rico.''
Representative Joe Moakley, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Rules Committee, observed that the House bill would establish special procedures to insure speedy consideration of legislation changing the status of Puerto Rico after a referendum.
Thirty-seven territories have eventually become states; 11 of them, including Alaska and Hawaii, held referendums. The Philippines, which like Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1898, became independent in 1946.
Chart: Statistics on the commonweath of Puerto Rico (pg. A18)