Support D.C. Statehood
Washington, D.C. is large enough to be a state. DC has 702,000 residents, more than Vermont and Wyoming and comparable with other states including Delaware, Alaska, and several others.
STATUS:
Hearings held in the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2021
Passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 22, 2021
H.R. 51/S. 51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
LWVME Position: Supports
Summary: This bill provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia. The commonwealth shall be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states.
D.C. residents are denied representation:
- D.C. residents have fought and died in every war, yet those armed service members are denied the freedoms they have fought to protect.
- D.C. elects a non-voting Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives who can draft legislation but cannot vote. The current Delegate for D.C. is Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
- D.C. residents do not have a voice in Senate Committees or on the Senate Floor. This means that D.C. residents have no say in the determination of who should serve as leadership for federal agencies, Serve as U.S. Ambassadors to foreign countries, sit on federal court benches or serve in the U.S. Supreme Court. This is true even for the federal courts within D.C.'s boundaries.
The D.C. Statehood bill has held a referendum already, with 86% in support. The bill has passed the House, 232-180. The two remaining steps are senate passage and for the president to sign it. This is the process by which all states have been admitted to the union, including Maine. Learn more here.
Use this form below to email your Maine legislators.
It only takes a few minutes! You can use the sample letter provided in this form or feel free to alter the letter to include your own statement.
Let us know what you hear back from your legislators!