On the recordSeptember 28, 2018
It is probably appropriate that you will be hearing on this last full day before the midterms about statehood for the District of Columbia. I am going to speak about why that is the appropriate way for us to go into midterms, as I represent 700,000 Americans who are number one--please remember this number--number one in taxes paid to support the Federal Government, but also have the distinction of having no final vote on this House floor and having no representation in the Senate of the United States. It is very clear--if you want a history lesson, I am not going to offer that lesson in the time allotted to me this afternoon--but it is absolutely clear that the Framers and the Founders of our country did not go to war with the slogan of ``Taxation Without Representation'' in order to allow that slogan to apply everywhere but in their Nation's Capital. For that reason, we want to thank the Democrats, almost the full caucus, who have already become cosponsors of the D.C. statehood bill. I hasten to add that I do not yet have my Republican friends. I believe that will occur. Meanwhile, Democrats have to plow ahead. I must thank my colleagues for the support they have given me, because we are very close to 100 percent here in the House on our DC statehood bill. I have to offer my thanks as well to Senator Tom Carper, because he is the lead sponsor in the Senate, and he has gotten more than 60 percent of the Democrats in the Senate to support D.C. statehood.…
