San Juan — The Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico convened a special session on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, beginning at 11:43 a.m., to honor veterans and highlight issues affecting the island’s veterans, including gaps in awareness and access to certain benefits.

The ceremony opened with an invocation by Pastor José Carrillo, who cited John 8:32 and prayed for veterans honored in the chamber. After procedural authorizations to continue remote viewing, portavoces (party spokespeople) read dedications for more than two dozen individually named veterans and a formal motion recognizing Veterans Day was read into the record by the chamber’s spokesperson.

“En conmemoración del Día del Veterano, la Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico se une para rendir homenaje a los hombres y mujeres que con honor, valentía y sacrificio han servido en las Fuerzas Armadas de los Estados Unidos,” the motion read as presented to the chamber. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote for the motion.

Speakers from multiple parties delivered short messages honoring veterans’ service and urged continued public-policy attention to veterans’ needs. Representative Estrella Martínez (PPD) said the commemoration ‘‘nos hace reflexionar sobre lo imperativo de promover el bienestar de los veteranos y veteranas y sus familiares’’ and cited education, health, employment, housing and civil rights as priorities.

Representative Lizzy Burgos Muñiz (Proyecto Dignidad) highlighted a named honoree, Rafael Betancourt Díaz, recounting his service in Vietnam and subsequent public-service roles and pledged to support legislation ‘‘que busque mejorar sus condiciones de vida en Puerto Rico’’.

Portavoz Torres Zamora recounted family military service and emphasized values such as punctuality and truth that, he said, veterans bring to civilian life. The session’s most policy-focused remarks came from Representative José Apunte Hernández, chair of the Commission on Federal and Veterans Affairs, who argued Puerto Rican veterans do not always receive equal treatment compared with veterans living in the 50 states.

“Sin embargo, nuestros veteranos puertorriqueños no son tratados iguales simplemente por no vivir en 1 de los 50 estados,” Apunte Hernández said, and urged the chamber to form a ‘‘frente común’’ to educate veterans about their rights and ensure they receive benefits to which they are entitled. He cited practical items that can affect veterans’ day-to-day experience, saying some agencies do not apply straightforward exemptions such as the waiver of a $10 stamp fee or partial waivers of vehicle marbete, and urged consistent application of those rights.

The session included historical context for the commemoration: Apunte Hernández referenced Abraham Lincoln’s remarks at a national cemetery ceremony as part of a broader framing of veterans’ service. The chamber concluded the special session with plans for a formal photograph and recessed at 12:22 p.m. until 1:30 p.m..

Actions recorded in the transcript are procedural and ceremonial: the presiding officer authorized continuation of remote views (no objection recorded), the chamber read a motion recognizing Veterans Day into the record, and members were asked to assemble for photographs before the mid-day recess. The transcript contains no recorded roll-call votes tied to the recognition motion or any legislative measure.

What happened next: the chamber recessed for lunch and planned to reconvene at 1:30 p.m.; no further legislative actions on bills or votes are recorded in the provided transcript.