As Mayor of the District of Columbia, I swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

We would have the electoral college votes that our population requires.

We are proud of the progress that we have made in our schools.

But we're bigger by population than two states, bigger than all states but Oklahoma at the time they were admitted to the Union.

Our very existence could be wiped away by the whim of the Congress.

I want to be clear. I am not here to talk about one person, but about 702,000 Americans who deserve full representation in this House.

Over the years, there have been a lot of arguments against statehood. You're too small, they say.

In fact, we do a better job than most states. We have a budget of $15.5 billion, which we have balanced 24 times in the last 24 years.

Well, it's being treated like all of the other hotels, sir.

I am honored to be here today to ask Congress to act upon the request of my residents to admit Washington, DC, to join the United States of America as the 51st state.

We have been very committed in our city to transparency in government and, in fact, have been very proud to advance some of the toughest transparency rules, ethics rules, data transparency rules anywhere in the Nation.

the way that you and all of my residents can ask me about how we're driving down crime is to make sure that we have complete control over the agencies that affect crime in Washington, DC, and statehood is the way that we get there.

The Trump Hotel, sir, is not a Government--it does not have a Government use.

we have been very committed in our city to transparency in government and, in fact, have been very proud to advance some of the toughest transparency rules, ethics rules, data transparency rules anywhere in the Nation.

Statehood is the way that we get there.

I control a part of the criminal justice system. And you, on the Federal level, control the rest.

Certainly, I can speak for the residents of Washington, DC. who have overwhelmingly endorsed statehood, and we are ready for statehood.