Norton Introduces D.C. Statehood Bill with 165 Original Cosponsors in 118th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that she introduced the District of Columbia statehood bill for the 118th Congress today with 165 original cosponsors. The bill passed the House for the first time in history in June of 2020 and passed again in April of 2021.
"Thank you to those who signed on as original cosponsors,” Norton said. “In June of 2019, our D.C. statehood bill passed the House for the first time in our 220 years as the nation's capital, and passed again in April of 2021. Despite Republicans’ best efforts to stop us, we're on our way to becoming the 51st state.”
Norton's introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the
Introduction of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act
January 9, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the District of Columbia statehood bill, formally known as the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. This bill, which the House passed in the 116th and 117th Congresses, is the most important bill I introduce each Congress.
The nearly 700,000 D.C. residents, who have all the obligations of American citizenship, including paying all federal taxes and serving in the armed forces, are denied voting representation in Congress and full local self-government. This bill would give D.C. residents the voting representation in Congress and full local self-government they have been denied for more than 220 years. To be content with less than statehood is to concede the equality of citizenship that is the birthright of D.C. residents as American citizens.
Congress has a moral obligation and the constitutional authority to pass this bill. This country was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed, but D.C. residents are taxed without representation and cannot consent to the laws under which they, as American citizens, must live.
This bill would admit the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union and reduce the size of the federal district. The state would consist of the residential and commercial portions of present-day D.C., and the reduced federal district, which would remain under Congress’ control, would consist of the Capitol Complex, the White House, the Supreme Court, the principal federal monuments and the National Mall area.
This bill complies with the Constitution, including the Admissions Clause, the District Clause and the 23rd Amendment.
The Admissions Clause gives Congress the authority to admit new states. All 37 new states were admitted by Congress. No new state was admitted by constitutional amendment. No state would have to consent to the admission of the State of Washington, D.C.
The District Clause gives Congress plenary authority over the federal district and establishes a maximum size of the federal district. It does not establish a minimum size or a location of the federal district. Congress reduced the size of the federal district by 30 percent in 1846.
The 23rd Amendment allows the federal district to participate in the Electoral College. This bill would repeal the enabling act for the 23rd Amendment and the 23rd Amendment would be repealed quickly. In any event, the 23rd Amendment does not establish a minimum size or a location of the federal district.
The Constitution does not establish any prerequisites for new states, but Congress generally has considered three: population and resources, support for statehood and commitment to democracy. The State of Washington, D.C. would meet each.
D.C.’s population is larger than that of two states, and the new state would be one of six states with a population under one million. D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and pays more federal taxes than 23 states. D.C.’s gross domestic product is larger than that of 17 states. Eighty-six percent of D.C. residents voted for statehood in 2016. In fact, D.C. residents have been fighting for voting representation in Congress and local autonomy for more than 220 years.
I seek statehood for the Americans I am honored to represent. At the same time, D.C. statehood is deeply personal for me. My great-grandfather Richard Holmes, who escaped as a slave from a Virginia plantation, made it as far as D.C., a walk to freedom but not to equal citizenship. For generations, my family has been denied the rights other Americans take for granted. There are many other D.C. residents like me.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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