Elijah Cummings: “As a country we can do better, we must do better.”

The American people demanded that their representatives in Washington fight for them and for what affects their lives on a day-to-day basis.

If we had a House and if we had a Senate that would pass legislation and we had a President that would sign it, this problem which is the subject of this hearing today could be fixed.

It is only recently in the last 50 years or so that many of these laws have changed.

I am extremely proud that our committee is holding the first hearing on D.C. Statehood in the House of Representatives in more than 25 years.