By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
On Jan. 7, U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) alongside U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), announced the introduction of a D.C statehood bill for the 119th Congress.
“At the beginning of two years under a Republican-held Congress and presidency, our conviction must be strong,” said Norton in a statement on Jan. 7. “To be content with less than statehood is to concede the equality of citizenship that is the birthright of D.C. residents as American citizens. Although we face a challenge in the short term, I’ll continue to seek statehood for the Americans I am honored to represent.”
In her introductory statement on the bill on Jan. 3, she explained that, “over 700,000 D.C. residents, who have all the obligations of American citizenship, including paying all federal taxes and serving in the armed forces, are denied voting representation in Congress and full local self-government. This bill would give D.C. residents the voting representation in Congress and full local self-government they have been denied for more than 220 years.”
According to the latest data from the U.S. Census, the Black residents make up 44.4 percent of the D.C. population.
Due to the retirement of former Sen. Tom Carper, Van Hollen has stepped up to now lead the bill in the Senate. Since 2013, Carper has introduced the Senate companion of the bill.
“Senator Van Hollen’s work and vocal support for D.C. residents’ right to voting representation in Congress and full self-government have not gone unnoticed as he has co-led the statehood effort in the Senate with Senator Carper,” said Norton. “As he takes over primary Senate leadership of the bill, D.C. residents can be confident they have a resolute, persuasive, and trustworthy advocate for their rights in the chamber.”
The bill first passed the House on June 26, 2020, and again on April 22, 2021, but has yet to successfully make its way through both chambers.
“Every American should have a full vote in our country’s future, but we fall short of this promise every day that the residents of the District of Columbia are denied that right in Congress and subjected to taxation without representation,” said Van Hollen. “We must grant the District statehood – the people who live in our nation’s capital deserve the same basic political rights afforded to citizens across the fifty states.”
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