Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement that DC statehood could become one of the first 100-day priorities for President-elect Joe Biden.
Bowser called on the 117th Congress to pass legislation to make the District the nation’s 51st state and get it on Biden’s desk within the first 100 days.
“Washingtonians have waited over 200 years for the representation we deserve as American citizens,” the mayor said. “And it is not just the residents of DC who bear the burden of our disenfranchisement. To paraphrase Dr. King: when any American is denied democracy, our entire nation is denied those voices and votes.”
Statement on the path forward for making DC the 51st state in the 117th Congress.#DCStatehood pic.twitter.com/YoAhu8O7AU
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 6, 2021
According to Bowser, Americans are now ready to “fix this injustice” and “build a more perfect union” where “the 712,000 residents of Washington, DC have full access to our nation’s democracy.”
The House voted in June 2020 to grant statehood to the District, marking the first time a chamber of Congress approved DC’s statehood. DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill, which she introduced on Sunday, has a total of 202 cosponsors. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced earlier this week that she would take it to the House floor.
The sacred right to vote and to have a voice in our government is a core pillar of our freedom. With Congresswoman @EleanorNorton’s reintroduction of her #DCStatehood legislation, Democrats will once again bring this critical legislation to the floor. https://t.co/OAAFUsYuUb
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 4, 2021
“The sacred right to vote and to have a voice in our government is a core pillar of our freedom. This Congress, Democrats will once again bring Congresswoman Norton’s crucial legislation to the Floor as we fight to secure access to the ballot box for Washingtonians, for historically disenfranchised communities and for all Americans – and we will not stop until that right is a reality for all,” Pelosi said in a statement.