Eleanor Holmes Norton

It is shameful that anyone would claim to support democracy and freedom and oppose statehood.

The simple truth is that the right to democracy should not be contingent on party registration.

It does not. It says nothing. Those are the words. It says nothing about characteristics of the new states.

Why aren't you fighting for Puerto Rican admission? It's been in the Republican Party's national platform for several decades.

We now thank you, Madam Chair, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, our Congresswoman, and your Democratic colleagues and President Biden, for righting that wrong last week with the American Rescue Plan.

I don't believe the Founding Fathers actually intended this.

We are more than capable of governing ourselves.

There should be no taxation without representation.

D.C. would be the only state in the entire country to have the Federal Government pick up billions and billions of annual dollars in expenses each year.

Both Republican and Democratic Justice Departments who have looked at the issue have said that a constitutional amendment is required for D.C. Statehood.

It should be clear to everyone that Congress cannot, Congress should not nullify a constitutional provision by simple legislation.

Put simply, if you oppose D.C. Statehood, you support taxation without representation.

D.C. residents themselves overwhelmingly support statehood. In 2016, an astonishing 86 percent voted in favor of becoming a state.

Therefore, I think, before you go talking about Maryland, you ought to ask Maryland.

The Framers of our Constitution wanted a separate Federal District to preserve the safety and security of the Federal Government.

Every American deserves a voice in their own government.

the real power grab is denying 712,000 taxpaying American citizens the right to vote.

It's interesting, Madam Chair, that the gentleman cites a small movement in California to succeed from the state. The District is asking for the opposite, to join the Union, with full equality, with the states.

D.C. residents should not have to abandon our homes and move elsewhere to secure the rights of citizens enjoyed by others.

Population size should not be a condition predicate to democracy.

It is simply, I think, unconstitutional and un-American to be asking how people are going to vote once they're admitted.

With final passage of President Biden's American Rescue Plan expected tomorrow, the priorities I pressed for, including $1,400 in direct payments per person and $26 billion in rental assistance makes the Rescue Plan live up to its name…

progress in this area hinges really on congressional action, the action we take.

And my questions are worker-oriented.

I recognize failure when I see it.