Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, on Sept. 19, 2019. The bill, introduced by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton in January, would admit the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union as a State consisting of most of the territory of the present-day District of Columbia. This is the first hearing on D.C. Statehood in the House since 1993.
H.R. 51 has 219 cosponsors, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer strongly endorsed the bill. Senator Tom Carper introduced the companion bill in the Senate, which has more than 30 cosponsors. In March, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a list of voting rights priorities, including supporting D.C. statehood.
Earlier this month, the ACLU conducted a constitutional analysis of H.R. 51 and found that the bill “is a valid and defensible exercise of congressional authority" and is “constitutionally permissible."
In March, the House passed H.R. 1, The For the People Act, which contained findings supporting D.C. statehood and marked the first time in American history that either chamber of Congress endorsed D.C. statehood.
WHERE: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019
TIME: 10:00 A.M.
The hearing will broadcast here.
CONFIRMED WITNESSES:
The Honorable Muriel Bowser
Mayor
District of Columbia
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
Jeffrey S. DeWitt
Chief Financial Officer
District of Columbia
Kenneth R. Thomas
Legislative Attorney
Congressional Research Service
Kerwin E. Miller
Veteran and District of Columbia Resident
