House Passes Rule for D.C. Statehood Bill, Norton Speaks on House Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) spoke on the House floor today during the debate on the rule that will govern Thursday's House floor debate on her D.C. statehood bill (H.R. 51). The bill has 216 cosponsors, virtually guaranteeing House passage on Thursday. This will be only the second time a chamber of Congress has passed the D.C. statehood bill. Last year, the House passed the bill for the first time.

"This Congress, with Democrats controlling the House, the Senate and the White House, D.C. statehood is within reach for the first time in history," Norton said.

Norton's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.

FLOOR REMARKS FOR DEBATE ON THE RULE FOR H.R. 51

The rule before us is no ordinary rule. It is the prelude to history, and I use that word advisedly. Last Congress, when the House passed the District of Columbia statehood bill, it was the first time in history either chamber of Congress had passed the bill. This Congress, with Democrats controlling the House, the Senate and the White House, D.C. statehood is within reach for the first time in history.

For the 220 years since D.C. became the capital of the United States, D.C. residents, who have always had all of the obligations of citizenship, including paying full federal taxes and serving in the armed forces, have been excluded from much of American democracy. The citizens who live in our nation's capital have never had voting representation on the floor of either chamber of Congress, and Congress has always had the final say on their local affairs. This is uniquely un-American, and it is undemocratic.

For me, this is deeply personal. My own family has lived in D.C. since my great-grandfather Richard Holmes, as a slave, walked away from a plantation in Virginia and made his way to D.C. almost 200 years ago. Richard Holmes made it as far as D.C., a walk to freedom but not to equal citizenship so far for our family.

During debate on the D.C. statehood bill on Thursday, we will make the case that Congress has the constitutional authority to admit the State of Washington, D.C., and that the state would meet all of the traditional elements Congress has considered in admission decisions.

For now, it is sufficient to note that, throughout its existence, the United States has flattered itself as a democracy, even though it is the only democratic country that denies voting representation in the national legislature to the residents of the capital. With the passage of this rule today and the D.C. statehood bill on Thursday, the United States will be one step closer to deserving the term democracy.