Norton Says Republican Support for Puerto Rico Statehood Bill Should Be Applied Equally to Her D.C. Statehood Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said she supports a bill introduced this week by the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González Colón, to grant Puerto Rico statehood, and will be added as a cosponsor. Norton called on the Republican cosponsors of Gonzalez Colón's bill to also cosponsor Norton's bill to grant the District of Columbia statehood. Resident Commissioner Gonzalez Colón is a Republican, and her bill has 22 Republican and 14 Democratic cosponsors. Norton's D.C. statehood bill has a record number of cosponsors in the House (159) and Senate (25).

"As a matter of principle and fairness, Republican Members of the House and Senate who support statehood for Puerto Rico should also support statehood for the District of Columbia," Norton said. "The denial of equal citizenship to American citizens living in the nation's capital and in Puerto Rico is the greatest stain on our nation's commitment to democratic values. We ask Republicans who support extending equal citizenship to Puerto Rico residents to also cosponsor my D.C. statehood bill, just as many Democrats have cosponsored the Puerto Rico statehood bill. I have supported statehood for Puerto Rico in the past, and will continue to do so."

The prior Puerto Rico resident commissioner was a cosponsor of Norton's D.C. statehood bill.