Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.’s only nonvoting delegate in the House, announced she would push for a statehood vote for the District of Columbia if Democrats win the House back in the midterm election.
The Constitution explicitly says the District of Columbia is not a state, and that Congress has the power to “exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever.”
According to Hannity.com, Norton made the surprising announcement from the House floor Friday; pledging to transform the District of Columbia into a full-fledged state with two Senators and voting members of Congress.
“If in fact there is Democratic control, I will seek a vote on D.C. statehood,” said Norton. “I got a vote on D.C. statehood when I first came to the Congress. It’s time to have another vote on DC statehood.”
The Congresswoman goes on to say that the district has a larger population than Vermont and Wyoming, and that her constituents have “no representation” in the US Congress.
“The people I represent, 700,000 of them, are No. 1 in taxes paid to support the government of the United States,” she said. “Yet they have no representation whatsoever in that body down the hall, the Senate of the United States.”
sources: Washington Examiner
