Norton secures 200 cosponsors for DC statehood bill
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) announced today that she has secured a historic 200 cosponsors for her bill to make the District of Columbia a state, the Washington, DC Admission Act (HR 51).
“We salute the 200 cosponsors of the District of Columbia statehood bill and thank them for their support for equal citizenship,” Norton said. “We will not stop here, however, as we build momentum for a vote on the bill on the House floor this Congress for the 700,000 residents of the nation’s capital, who pay the highest income taxes per capita in the United States.”
New historic milestone! We have secured 200 cosponsors for my bill, HR 51, to make D.C. a state. #DCstatehood continues to build momentum in Congress and won’t stop until the 700,000 taxpaying residents of DC have equal representation in their government. #FreeAndEqualDC
— Eleanor Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) March 5, 2019
When Norton introduced the bill on the first day of the 116th Congress, standing with her were a record 155 original cosponsors. Now with 200 total cosponsors, she has surpassed the previous record for total cosponsors (181).
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) issued a strong endorsement of DC statehood upon introduction of HR 51, Representative Elijah Cummings (D) of Maryland, the chairman of the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced that the committee will hold a hearing and markup on the statehood bill this year and Senator Tom Carper (D) of Delaware reintroduced the statehood bill last week in the Senate with a record 28 original cosponsors.
The House is expected to debate and pass the For the People Act of 2019 (HR 1), a pro-democracy bill, this week. Norton was able to get included in that important bill extensive findings calling on Congress to grant DC statehood. Passage of HR 1 will mark the first time either chamber has endorsed DC statehood.
