MEDIA RESOURCE for Senate Hearing on D.C. Statehood, Tuesday June 22nd
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
CONTACT:
press@51for51.org
MEDIA RESOURCE for Senate Hearing on D.C. Statehood, Tuesday June 22nd
Washington, D.C. — On Tuesday, June 22nd, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will hold a hearing on S.51, the Washington, D.C. Admissions Act, the bill to make D.C. the 51st state. With recent statements of support from President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, and a record number of 46 Senate supporters, the statehood movement is closer than ever before.
This hearing comes after 51 for 51 led over 100 groups in writing a letter calling on Senator Peters to hold a public hearing for the bill. This will be the first time that statehood receives a hearing in the Senate after a statehood bill has passed the House. The last time the Senate held a hearing on D.C. statehood was in 2014, but legislation had not yet passed the House.
Statehood images and videos are available for public use here, including recent footage of a new statehood mural in Washington, D.C., and a NY choir performance of statehood songs
51 for 51 Campaign Manager Stasha Rhodes and Lead Organizer Jamal Holtz can be reached for comment about the hearing at press@51for51.org
Recent developments in the fight for D.C. statehood:
- A new report highlights historic Republican support for D.C. representation from prominent Republicans like former VP Mike Pence, former Senator Barry Goldwater, as well as 15 years of endorsements from the Republican party platform. Exposing this Republican hypocrisy illuminated that D.C. statehood should be a non-partisan, voting rights issue, but modern Republican resistance to statehood is rooted in racism. Read the report from Defend American Democracy here, and a write-up in The Atlantic here.
- Nearly 40 leading constitutional experts affirm statehood is entirely constitutional in a letter to Congressional leaders. Some of the nation’s top legal scholars from Harvard, UC Berkeley, Georgetown, and more, evaluate the constitutional clauses at play in the statehood debate and find there are no constitutional barriers to making D.C. the 51st state. Read their letter here, 51 for 51’s summary here, and a write-up in the Washington Post here.
- Neither D.C. nor Maryland residents support retrocession — read 51 for 51’s fact sheet on why the idea is racist, unnecessary, and unpopular across the board.
- New polls show a majority of Americans support D.C. statehood. Polling from Democracy for All shows that 54 percent of Americans support statehood, and 78 percent support statehood when it is framed as a racial justice issue.
- Outside lawmakers are trying to ban D.C. from teaching critical race theory in schools. Congress has complete authority over local D.C. laws, so Republican Congresspeople have overturned democratically-passed laws on abortion, gun violence, marijuana, and COVID vaccines. Trying to prevent teachers from talking about race in a plurality-Black locale is the latest egregious overreach showing D.C. needs autonomy.
- Juneteenth illuminates the fight for Black liberation is incomplete without D.C. statehood. MSNBC’s Trymaine Lee interviews 51 for 51 Lead Organizer Jamal Holtz in this podcast episode and MSNBC segment. Read 51 for 51’s statement on Juneteenth here and our campaign manager’s op-ed in the Washington Post about emancipation without representation.
- D.C. still bears scars from the Jan. 6th insurrection, but has no vote in how to address it. D.C. residents were ignored in Congressional votes on the Jan. 6th commission and the impeachment proceedings, even though we bore the brunt of the insurrection. Read more about the personal impact of the coup attempt in Jamal Holtz’s Washington Post op-ed here.
Fast Facts:
- D.C. would be the first state with a plurality of Black residents — 46% of residents are Black.
- With 700,000 residents, D.C. has a larger population than two states: Wyoming and Vermont.
- D.C. pays the most federal taxes per capita than any other state in the nation.
- The U.S. is the only established democracy in the world that denies full rights to residents of its capital city — the United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on the U.S. to address D.C.’s “lack of political equality,” and the Organization of American States has declared the city’s disenfranchisement a violation of its charter agreement.
To speak with a representative of 51 for 51, please contact press@51for51.org
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51 for 51 is a coalition of D.C.-based and national groups committed to equal representation for the over 700,000 D.C. residents who remain locked out of our democracy. The coalition of 20 progressive groups believe American citizens living in the District deserve a voice in Congress and control over their own local laws. Already, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Senators Warren, Markey, Gillibrand and Hickenlooper have endorsed 51 for 51’s proposed path to statehood.
Additional Information
Website: https://www.51for51.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/51for51