Puerto Rico has been part of the United States since 1898, and its residents have been considered American citizens since 1917. However, as a U.S. Territory rather than a state, it does not have representation in Congress nor the right to elect representatives to the Electoral College. In recent years, arguments for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state have drawn renewed interest on the island and in Congress, but this has been hotly debated for more than half a century.