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Norton Announces Committee Markup and Vote on D.C. Statehood Bill to Be Held April 14th

March 31, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that the Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) will mark up and vote on her District of Columbia statehood bill (H.R. 51) on Wednesday, April 14th at 10:00 a.m. It will be only the second markup of the bill in Congress since 1993 and will occur just two days before D.C. Emancipation Day, the holiday celebrating the freeing of thousands of slaves in the District of Columbia, and one day before the traditional tax filing deadline.

"This historic markup of the D.C. statehood bill, which will be only the second in Congress since 1993, will prepare the bill for the floor and will serve to help educate the American public on why statehood for the residents of our nation's capital is so important," Congresswoman Norton said. "As we held a hearing on the bill just last week, we learned that support for D.C. statehood in the latest poll had increased to 54% nationally. The hearing, markup and floor vote on our bill last Congress educated the millions of Americans who did not know that the Americans who live in their nation's capital do not have the same rights they have. And this markup will occur just two days before Emancipation Day, when President Lincoln freed the slaves in the District before those in the states, but we'll be celebrating the same theme: granting equal rights to residents of the District of Columbia. I thank Chairwoman Maloney for her leadership and support on D.C. statehood and for prioritizing the bill early this Congress, paving the way for House passage soon."

"Thirty years ago, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton first introduced a bill to make D.C. a state, and because of her decades-long fight, D.C. statehood has never been closer to becoming a reality. I am so proud that we brought D.C. statehood to the House floor last Congress when it passed for the first time in history," said Chairwoman Maloney. "Next month's Committee mark-up is another important step towards giving 712,000 D.C. residents a voice and the political representation they deserve. I look forward to marking up the bill, passing it out of the House for the second time, and then working with the Senate to finally make it law."

"I'm pleased that the House Oversight and Reform Committee will markup H.R. 51, the Washington, DC Admission Act and bring the District of Columbia one step closer to statehood for its more than 700,000 residents," said Congressman Hoyer. "For too long, D.C. residents have been denied equal representation in our democracy. The citizens of the District of Columbia deserve the same voting rights as their fellow Americans in Maryland and Virginia, and statehood is the only way to ensure full and permanent representation. Following this markup, I look forward to working with Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to bring this legislation to the House Floor in the near future."

"Last week's House Oversight Committee hearing made clear once again the moral imperative of granting D.C. statehood and finally giving the more than 700,000 residents of D.C., who pay federal taxes and serve in our Armed Forces, a voice and a vote in our democracy," said Senator Carper, lead Senate author of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (S. 51). "With the scheduling of this markup, we are one step closer to righting this historic wrong and living up to our founding fathers' rallying cry of ‘No taxation without representation.' I want to thank Congresswoman Norton for her determination and leadership on this issue."

Last Congress, the House passed H.R. 51, which was the first time a chamber had ever passed the D.C. statehood bill. This Congress, H.R. 51 has 215 cosponsors. The Senate companion bill (S. 51) has 42 cosponsors. The bill would admit the State of Washington, D.C. and reduce the size of the federal district.

COR will live stream the markup and vote for the public to watch here.