Eleanor Holmes Norton

I thank the gentleman for his motion. And we will attend to his motion presently.

Our fundamentals are solid. Our population is growing. Our revenues are growing.

But this is unpopular with the citizens in both the District and Maryland.

Statehood is the only way to give our citizens locally elected representatives, to enact purely local laws that will not be subject to national debates over divisive social issues.

H.R. 51 is constitutional.

The fact is denying American citizens a vote in this body that taxes them goes against the very founding premise of this Nation.

That is why we want to become the 51st state in the United States.

The District is in the best financial state it has been in its history.

It is a great indignity when great questions affecting this country we have nobody to call in the Senate to speak for us.

The lack of statehood deprives us of more than just full representation in this Congress. It has practical and dire consequences.

the simple answer is yes.

We are trying to do regular order here. We are trying to be fair.

That is all we ask, that Congress give us what it has given the citizens of 37 other states--full citizenship, statehood.

There is nothing in the Constitution that bars the Nation's capital from becoming a state.

Now, we have to ask ourselves why that unilateral opposition and partisan opposition exists to the statehood and enfranchisement of the people of Columbia.

It is the only way to ensure a judicial system that is representative of community values.

The voting rights of American citizens and their representatives Congress have never been and never will be contingent on state and local officials never engaging in misdeeds.

extending statehood to the District of Columbia must be our objective and our result.

Statehood means the United States citizens of the District of Columbia will have the same rights and privileges enjoyed by the United States citizens of the 50 states.

Many opponents have argued that the District is not capable of governing itself in a fiscally responsible manner.

Eighty-six percent of the people advised the Council to approve our new Constitution.

Denying statehood would be unfair no matter who was affected.

I think without--with great alacrity that amendment would be repealed.

the Constitution never envisioned people voting in D.C., yes, they never envisioned a modern metropolis of 700,000 people.

There should be no taxation without representation.