News

Wednesday, June 16, 2020

WASHINGTON — Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton announced that H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C., Admission Act, will get a vote on the House floor next Friday, June 26, where it is expected to pass. The vote on H.R. 51 will mark an historic step toward full representation for the more than 700,000 Americans in D.C., a majority of them Black and Brown, who have long been denied equal representation in their government. This vote comes on the heels of federal law enforcement officers attacking peaceful protesters in the streets of the nation’s capital at the behest of the federal government.“This vote is about equal representation under the law, which hits at the heart of our democracy. It is not only a huge moment in D.C.’s history, but in American history. For over 200 years, D.C. residents have been denied access to the basic features of democracy and this vote is one step toward righting that wrong,” said 51 for 51 Campaign Director Stasha Rhodes. “It is very possible that in a few months, the only thing standing between D.C. and full statehood is the filibuster — an arcane Senate rule that is continuously used to kill civil rights legislation. Last week, we saw how easily President Trump mobilized militarized attacks against peaceful protesters in D.C., underscoring the urgent need for D.C. residents to have their own voice and their own state government. The 700,000 residents of D.C. deserve statehood and securing statehood with 51 votes in the Senate is the only politically viable path. I’d like to thank Congresswoman Holmes Norton for her sustained leadership on D.C. statehood and making sure D.C. residents are represented in our democracy.”

“Every American should have an equal voice in our federal government—but the residents of D.C. have no voting representatives in Congress and cannot control the laws that govern them. Our country has a long and shameful history of denying full voting rights to all its citizens, especially people of color. The 700,000 residents of D.C. should have the same rights and representation as other Americans,” said Stand Up America Founder and President Sean Eldridge. “It is long past time for D.C. to become a state—and we commend Congresswoman Holmes Norton and advocates for pressuring the House of Representatives to take this historic first step. We must continue fighting for statehood with 51 votes in the Senate, and the next step is to abolish the legislative filibuster to make that possible.”