Norton Announces House Floor Speech on D.C. Statehood Today
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will manage her first special order time on the House floor for this session of Congress on statehood for the District of Columbia this afternoon, a day after D.C. residents came in record numbers to the Congress to ask Members to cosponsor the D.C. statehood bill. Norton often seeks extended floor time to explain the reasons the District should become the 51st state.
In only the first eight weeks of the 116th Congress, Norton has a record-setting 198 cosponsors for her D.C. statehood bill, the D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51). Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) strongly endorsed D.C. statehood when Norton introduced her bill, and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has committed to holding a hearing and markup of H.R. 51 this year. Norton got an extensive findings section supporting D.C. statehood included in the House Democrats' major democracy reform legislation, the For the People Act of 2019 (H.R. 1), which is expected to pass the House next week.
"Only a few weeks into this session, residents have come in record numbers to demand statehood, and we have made historic gains in the push to become the 51st state," Norton said. "With this great head start, I expect a vote on the House floor this Congress."