Washington, D.C. Admission Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Madam Chairwoman Maloney for yielding, and I salute her for her leadership in bringing this historic legislation to the floor.

All of us join in saluting Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has been the patron saint of D.C. statehood since she came to Congress. She has been tireless, persistent, and dissatisfied as she has built historical support for this bill, which passed in the previous Congress with 235 votes.

I rise as Speaker of the House to join my colleagues on this momentous day for American democracy as we right a historic injustice by passing legislation to finally grant Washington, D.C., statehood.

Statehood for the District of Columbia is about showing respect for our democracy, for the American people, and for our Constitution. That Constitution begins with our preamble, ``We the people,'' setting out our Founders' vision of a government of, by, and for the people.

Yet, for more than two centuries, the people of Washington, D.C., have been denied their right to fully participate in their democracy.

D.C., as Congresswoman Norton mentioned, pays more Federal taxes per capita than any other State. Its budget is larger than 12 States. Its population is larger than two States. Its people have fought in every American war since the Revolution.

D.C. residents have been fighting for voting rights and autonomy for 220 years, with a full 86 percent recently voting for statehood.

It is well past the time to grant them the rights that they have been fighting for and that they deserve.

As I said, Mr. Speaker, I rise as Speaker of the House on this momentous occasion. It is an official honor to do so, but it is also a personal privilege to join Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton; the distinguished chair of the committee of jurisdiction, Congresswoman Maloney; many of my colleagues; and the distinguished majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, who has made this part of his life's work in the Congress to join in this fight for statehood.

It is a personal privilege because when I was born, my father was a Member of Congress from Baltimore, Maryland, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. He served as chairman of the District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee. That position made him the unofficial mayor of Washington because of the authority that the committee had over the District of Columbia and their every decision.

However, my father did not agree with that. He was a proponent for what was then called ``home rule.'' They often say that statehood for the District of Columbia is in my DNA. It went from home rule, then to finally having a mayor, and now we want statehood. We have always wanted statehood, but now we finally are able to pass it in the Congress.

There is nothing theoretical or abstract about statehood. For example, last summer, the country watched in horror as Federal agents and out-of-State National Guard troops were deployed against peaceful protesters in the District without residents' approval. Then, on January 6, as our Capitol was being defiled, our Capitol Police assaulted and killed, and our Members and staff terrorized, D.C. leaders did not have the authority to call the National Guard to protect its people.

Granting D.C. statehood means ensuring that its leaders have the tools they need to keep people safe. The Governor of any one of our States has the authority to call in the National Guard. That is not an authority that is afforded to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. If that were the case, we would have had protection much sooner.

Statehood is also a matter of civil rights. The residents of the District have a right to self-governance and control over their lives and futures.

It is particularly meaningful that we pass this legislation just days after the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln signing the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing enslaved people in the District.

Today, by passing H.R. 51 to admit the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union, the House will finally address this unjust, unequal, and undemocratic situation.

We look forward to a swift vote in the Senate on this essential legislation so that we can send this important legislation to the President's desk.

At the same time, House Democrats will continue our work to protect every American's right to be heard at the ballot box. I urge a strong vote for D.C. statehood, H.R. 51--the 51st State, easy to remember--and for its citizens' civil liberties, security, and right to have a say in our democracy.

I want to once again commend Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton for her long dedication to justice for every person in our country, starting with the people she represents in the District of Columbia, hopefully soon to be the 51st State of the Union. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

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