Photo by Bullneck
Ahead of the first Senate hearing on D.C. statehood in 20 years, the Council sent a letter to President Obama, asking him to reiterate his support for the creation of New Columbia.
“We in the District of Columbia were very happy to hear your comments during a July town hall meeting when you said, in regard to statehood, ‘I’m for it,’ and, ‘it’s the right thing to do.’ These words were inspiring to the over 640,000 people who live in the District,” the Council said in a letter, led by Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans. “But those of us who live and vote in D.C. are not the ones who need inspiration. We have spoken for decades on the civil and human right that is full enfranchisement and statehood. Now we need you, Mr. President, to add your voice in a powerful and official way by sending a letter to the Senate.”
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Sen. Thomas Carper, will hold a hearing Monday at 3 p.m. on the New Columbia Admission Act of 2013. Witnesses will include Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mayor Vince Gray, Council Chair Phil Mendelson, as well as Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution and Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute.
Earlier in the week, the full Council sent a letter to Carper, asking the Senate to take a vote on the statehood bill before the midterm elections: “If we are not to have voting rights, we at least deserve to know who opposes our inalienable right.”
The Council’s letter to Obama — which also serves as a Change.org petition — states that “there’s unlikely to be a quick resolution in this debate,” but notes that the president’s support “will help to highlight for people all the around the country, that the citizens of the District of Columbia do not enjoy certain basic rights of citizenship, including representation in the United States Senate and voting representation in the House of Representatives; control of locally raised and allocated funds (as we saw during the 2013 federal government shutdown); and autonomy in determining our own laws and municipal policies.”
In another effort to raise awareness about the hearing, Norton took to the floor of the House yesterday to make the case for statehood. Her speech can be seen below.
