Washington, D.C. Admission Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice) for his great leadership on this issue.

At a time when Speaker Pelosi is keeping Congress largely on the sidelines, it is unfortunate that we are spending precious work time debating blatantly unconstitutional legislation.

Not only is this measure unconstitutional and dead on arrival in the Senate, but it should not be a priority for this body right now. Our Nation is facing a serious need for action. We need police reform that focuses on transparency and accountability, we need to support American workers as States safely reopen their communities and economies, and we need to ensure that money we have spent to fight the coronavirus is effectively guarded against waste, fraud, and abuse.

Passing this measure today would signal a stunning lack of respect for the Constitution. Making Washington, D.C., a State would specifically violate the intentions of our Founding Fathers, who wanted the national seat of government to belong to no State.

In fact, the Constitution specifically calls for Congress, not any State government, to have authority over the District serving as the seat of Federal Government.

Granting statehood for Washington, D.C., requires a constitutional amendment, just as granting the District three electoral college votes required the ratification of the 23rd Amendment.

It is time for Congress to get back to full-time work and take up the pressing issues facing our country, not playing unconstitutional games.

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