The Case for DC Statehood

Representation is the foundation of our democracy 

• Taxation without representation was wrong in 1776 and it is wrong today. The people of DC pay more taxes than 22 states and pay more to the federal government than they receive in federal services yet have no voting representation in Congress.  

• The 29,700 Veterans who call DC home have defended democracy around the world, have put their lives on the line for democracy, but do not have democracy at home.  

• More than 700,000 people make their lives in DC, more than the populations of Wyoming and Vermont and almost as many as Alaska, North and South Dakota. Voting representation is the foundation of our democracy and it is only fair to extend it to the people of DC. 

The People of DC do not have full Self-Government 

The people of DC do not have control over their own laws or their own budget. Our nation was founded on the principle of self-government, but Congress can change any law or budget item passed by the duly elected DC Council and signed by the Mayor.  

No other jurisdiction or state is told by Congress how it can or cannot spend its own locally collected tax revenue. This blatantly disregards the rights of DC residents. 

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Over the last 30 years Congress has regularly interfered with DC legislation.  

• When AIDS was a fatal disease, Congress blocked programs that prevented the spread of HIV.  

• Congress delayed the District’s recognition of GLBTQ relationships. 

• Congress threatened wet wipe regulation to increase sewage worker safety and protect our drinking water.

• Congress interfered with legislation to reduce gun violence.

The most recent obstructions to DC’s self-government:

Reproductive Rights for Women

Congress bans DC from using its own local tax money to give low-income women access to abortion care through Medicaid. This disastrous policy impacts 55,000 DC women of reproductive age enrolled in Medicaid, pushing abortion care out of reach for many. It disproportionally affects communities of color. For low income DC women, this Medicaid ban is not just a move on a political chessboard, it creates a burdensome hurdle in exercising their constitutional right. 

Tax Revenue and Regulation Denied

In 2014, 70% of DC voters passed an initiative to legalize adult possession and home use of marijuana. However, Congress prohibits DC from passing new laws to regulate and tax it’s sale, thus leaving the sale of a legal product in the “underground” market and denies the District needed tax revenue. 

Proposals to advance equity to ensure that that benefits of the sale of cannabis go to DC’s most vulnerable communities through jobs and investments in housing, focusing most on areas hardest hit by the criminalization of marijuana, are unable to advance because of Congress. This is the real crime. 

Why Statehood? 

In November of 2016 a whopping 86% of DC voters supported the DC Statehood referendum. Every other territory got to decide to be a state. The people of DC just want the same respect to choose what we want.  

DC already functions in 100’s of ways as a state. For one, check out our license plates. 

What about our Federal Capital? 

Making just the residential neighborhoods and commercial areas of the District of Columbia a new state allows the area where the White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court, along with the monuments and museums to remain as the Federal Capitol of the United States. We can fix this hole in our democracy and still maintain a beautiful national Capital district.