I want to give credit where credit is due, send some shine to my sister in service Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has been a stalwart fighter and champion for over two decades.

The right to democracy should not be contingent on party registration.

The truth is that most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose statehood because they believe it could dilute their power.

When our Nation was founded, it was based on the belief that no people should be subjected to taxation without representation or be governed without their consent.

D.C. residents are American citizens. They fight honorably to protect our Nation overseas. They pay taxes.

I renew my request that the principle of self-government be extended and the right of suffrage granted to the citizens of the District of Columbia.

D.C. residents have all of the responsibilities of citizenship, but they have no congressional voting rights and only limited self-government.

Congress, because we are not a state, prohibited our implementing that program.

I also want to give up power to the people and just thank those who have labored in love, foot soldiers who have organized and mobilized and raised your voices time and time again.

This is not about your answering just to this committee. You're answering to the American people.

It does seem we're missing each other here and, you know, I'm----

So, just when I think that the occupant of this White House and his xenophobic administration cannot reach any new lows, they go even lower...