Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2019)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, commended Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on her legislation to create the nation’s 51st State, comprised of the eight hometown wards of the District of Columbia, and announced that the Committee will be holding a hearing on her bill, H.R. 51, on July 24, 2019:

“I thank Congresswoman Norton for her leadership and her tireless dedication to ensuring that hundreds of thousands of American citizens who live in our nation’s capital are afforded the same rights as other Americans across the country,” said Cummings. “I am pleased to announce that our Committee will be holding a hearing on this bill on July 24, and I look forward to working closely with Congresswoman Norton, as well as the House and Senate leadership, to hopefully move this bill toward final passage.”

Congresswoman Holmes Norton issued the following statement:

“For 218 years, residents of the District of Columbia have lived in our country as American citizens without equal representation or equal self-government,” Norton said. “I am particularly grateful to Chairman Cummings for his leadership in pressing forward with the necessary hearing on our D.C. statehood bill to enable our bill to go to the House floor. Residents of the District of Columbia have served side by side other Americans in the nation’s military since the nation was created, including today. Our residents pay more per capita in federal taxes than residents of any other jurisdiction. Despite fulfilling all the obligations of statehood, D.C. residents have been deprived of the equal rights in their government enjoyed by other Americans. Chairman Cummings’ announcement is a historic step for the nation and for 700,000 American citizens who live in the nation’s capital.”

H.R. 51, The Washington, D.C. Admission Act, has more than 200 cosponsors in the House, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi strongly endorsed the bill.

Senator Tom Carper introduced the companion bill in the Senate, which has more than 30 cosponsors. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a list of voting rights priorities, including supporting D.C. statehood.

In March, the House passed H.R. 1, The For the People Act, which contained findings supporting D.C. statehood and marked the first time in American history that either chamber of Congress endorsed D.C. statehood.