[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW COLUMBIA ADMISSION ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the New Columbia 
Admission Act with 93 original cosponsors, a record number. I am 
introducing the District of Columbia statehood bill as my first bill 
for the 114th Congress, an indication of its importance to the 
residents of the District of Columbia. This bill got its first-ever 
Senate hearing last Congress, ensuring that statehood is on the 
congressional agenda. Residents were so encouraged by the prospect of 
the first Senate hearing on our bill that more DC residents attended 
than had come to any DC hearing in memory. Their enthusiasm reflects 
that residents of our nation's capital have always been citizens of the 
United States but remain the only taxpaying Americans who do not have 
full and equal citizenship rights. The denial of local control of local 
matters and of equal representation in the Congress of the United 
States can be remedied only by statehood.
  Therefore, I am introducing the New Columbia Admission Act to create 
a state from essentially the eight home-town wards of the District of 
Columbia. This 51st state, of course, would have no jurisdiction over 
the federal territory or enclave that now consists of the Washington 
that Members of Congress and visitors associate with the capital of our 
country. The U.S. Capitol premises, the principal federal monuments, 
federal buildings and grounds, the National Mall, and other federal 
property here would remain under federal jurisdiction. Our bill 
provides that the State of New Columbia would be equal to the other 
fifty states in all respects, as is always required, and the residents 
of New Columbia would have all the rights of citizenship as taxpaying 
American citizens, including two senators and, initially, one House 
member. The District of Columbia recognizes that it can enter the Union 
only on an equal basis and is prepared to do so.
  The New Columbia Admission Act was the first bill I introduced after 
I was first sworn in as a Member of Congress in the 102nd Congress in 
1991. Our first try for statehood received significant support in the 
House. In 1993, we got the first and only vote on statehood for the 
District, with nearly 60% of Democrats and one Republican voting for 
the New Columbia Admission Act. The Senate held a hearing on various 
approaches to representation, but the committee of jurisdiction did not 
proceed further. In the 113th Congress, our statehood bill got 
unprecedented momentum with the Senate's first-ever hearing on 
statehood, which was the first congressional hearing held on statehood 
in more than 20 years, since the House held its hearing on statehood in 
1993, and obtained a record number of cosponsors in the House and 
Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as well as the 
other top three Democratic leaders in the Senate. In addition, 
President Obama endorsed DC statehood in a public forum before the 
statehood hearing was held.
  Statehood is the only alternative for the citizens of the District of 
Columbia. To be content with less than statehood is to concede the 
equality of citizenship that is the birthright of our residents as 
citizens of the United States. That is a concession no American citizen 
has ever made, and one DC residents will not make as they approach the 
214th year in their fight for equal treatment in their country. This 
bill reaffirms our determination to obtain each and every right enjoyed 
by citizens of the United States, by becoming the 51st State in the 
Union.

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