April 22, 2021

Rep. Lawson Votes to Pass D.C. Statehood Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (FL-05) voted for H.R. 51 to grant statehood to Washington, D.C. This legislation would admit D.C. as the 51st state – securing voting representation in Congress and full self-government for the city’s 712,000 residents. 

“Our nation was built on a promise that all are created equal and are deserving of an equal say in our democracy. But for far too long, the residents of our nation’s capital have been denied adequate representation in Congress and the right to govern themselves at the local level. I am proud to support the movement for D.C. Statehood. Now it’s up to the Senate to swiftly pass this bill, admit DC into the Union and live up to America’s promise of government of, by and for the people.” 

This legislation would grant the new state two voting senators and, based on its population, one voting representative to Congress. It would also establish an autonomous local government, which would no longer be subjected to Congressional control. 

The Constitution grants Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union without need for a constitutional amendment – and it has done so to grant statehood to each of the 37 states admitted after the original thirteen.  When evaluating a bid for statehood, Congress has historically considered support for statehood, resources and population.  D.C. meets this criteria in the following ways:

  • D.C. residents have been petitioning for voting representation in Congress and local self-government for more than 200 years – most recently in November 2016, when residents approved a statehood referendum with 86 percent of voters in favor
  • D.C. residents pay the most per capita in federal income taxes and generate the highest per capita GDP in the nation
  • The D.C. municipal budget is larger than the budgets of 12 states
  • Its residents have fought in every American war since the Revolution
  • Its population is larger than two existing states: Wyoming and Vermont

The 51st state, which would be renamed Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, would be made up of 66 square miles of the city’s current 68 square miles. The remaining two square miles – comprised of the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, principal federal monuments and federal buildings adjacent to the National Mall – would be the new federal district and seat of the United States government.