Norton Uses Lead Up to D.C. Emancipation Day to Call for D.C. Statehood, Highlights that D.C. Pays Higher Taxes Per Capita than Any of the 50 States

WASHINGTON, DC – In advance of D.C. Emancipation Day, April 16, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today spoke on the House floor to call for D.C. statehood, using official government figures that show D.C. pays more in federal taxes per capita than any state in the Union – even though D.C. residents have no vote in the House and no Senators. Norton, in her remarks, pointed out surprising comparative statistics that show that states like New York and California are far behind the District’s nearly $12,000 per capita in yearly federal taxes paid. D.C. residents are aware of the billions of dollars in federal taxes they pay collectively, but these statistics and a poster Norton used today (see graph below) show far more striking per capita comparisons.

Norton, in her floor statement, said, “We seek statehood – the only way to achieve what we have sought and still seek: budget autonomy, legislative autonomy, freedom from interference into our lives by the Congress of the United States.”

She thanked the D.C. residents and statehood and full democracy advocates who joined her from the House gallery today. D.C. Emancipation Day commemorates April 16, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln freed 3,100 enslaved African Americans in the District. Norton’s floor speech can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXPlp395cpc&feature=youtu.be.

Norton will also go to the floor tomorrow during morning debate at 10:00 a.m., and on Thursday afternoon.