 During his tenure as Resident Commissioner he campaigned for Puerto Rican statehood, successfully proposed Congress the derogation of the 936 tax code and endorsed the Young Project, which sought to call a referendum to resolve Puerto Rico's political status.In 2000, he sought a third term but was defeated by PPD's Aníbal Acevedo Vilá.He once again sought his party's nomination for the post of Resident Commissioner in 2003, but was defeated by Luis Fortuño.