Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E6]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTRODUCTION OF THE WASHINGTON, D.C. ADMISSION ACT
______
HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
of the district of columbia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Washington,
D.C. Admission Act with 156 original cosponsors, a record number. This
is the most important bill I introduce each Congress. District of
Columbia residents have always been citizens of the United States,
ranking number one in federal taxes per capita that support the federal
government, but are the only federal income taxpaying Americans who do
not have full and equal citizenship rights. The denial of local control
of local matters and of equal representation in the Congress can be
remedied only by statehood.
Therefore, I am introducing the Washington, D.C. Admission Act to
create a state from essentially the eight home-town wards of the
District. This 51st state, of course, would have no jurisdiction over
the federal enclave that now consists of the Washington that Members of
Congress and visitors associate with the capital of our country. The
U.S. Capitol Complex, the principal federal monuments, federal
buildings and grounds, the National Mall, the White House, and other
federal property here would remain under federal jurisdiction. Our bill
provides that the State of Washington, D.C. would be equal to the other
50 states in all respects, as is always required, and that the
residents of Washington, D.C. would have all the rights of citizenship,
including two senators and, initially, one House member. The District
recognizes that it can enter the Union only on an equal basis, and is
prepared to do so.
A substantially similar version of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act
was the first bill I introduced after I was first sworn in as a Member
of Congress in the 102nd Congress in 1991. Our first try for statehood
received significant support in the House. In 1993, we got the first
and only vote on statehood for the District, with nearly 60 percent of
Democrats and one Republican voting for the bill. The Senate held a
hearing on various approaches to representation, but the committee of
jurisdiction did not proceed further. In the 113th Congress, our
statehood bill got unprecedented momentum with the Senate's first-ever
hearing on statehood, which was the first congressional hearing held on
statehood in more than 20 years, since the House held its hearing on
statehood in 1993, and obtained a record number of cosponsors in the
House and Senate, including then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as
well as the other top three Democratic leaders in the Senate. In
addition, then-President Obama endorsed D.C. statehood in a public
forum before the statehood hearing was held. In the 115th Congress, not
only was there a record number of original cosponsors in the House
(116) and Senate (18), but also a record number of cosponsors in the
House (181) and Senate (30).
Statehood is the only solution for full and equal citizenship rights
for residents of the District. To be content with less than statehood
is to concede the equality of citizenship that is the birthright of our
residents as citizens of the United States. That is a concession no
American citizen has ever made, and one that D.C. residents will not
make as they approach the 218th year in their fight for equal treatment
in their country. This bill reaffirms our determination to obtain each
and every right enjoyed by citizens of the United States, by becoming
the 51st State in the Union.
Since the founding of the nation, District residents have always
carried all the obligations of citizenship, including serving in all of
the nation's wars and payment of federal taxes, all without voting
representation on the floor in either house of Congress or freedom from
congressional interference in purely local matters.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
____________________