1993 Articles

DC Statehood: Its Time Has Come

Samuels, Joel H.

"Perhaps no idea is more fundamental to the establishment of the United States. But more than 200 years after the gathering at Boston Harbor, the 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia embody precisely the wrongs Americans fought the Revolutionary War to eradicate.
For three years, Norton has served as a delegate to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia. As delegate she has the same powers as any other Representative to Congress to serve on and chair Committees, introduce legislation, and participate in floor debates. Unlike full Representatives; however, she is denied the right to vote on final passage and some floor amendments. Even this restricted representation is denied DC's shadow Senators in the Senate.
While on Capitol Hill, Congresswoman Norton has dedicated herself to what a fellow democrat called "an uphill battle through molasses in a blizzard." Norton wants to add one more star to the American flag-a 51st for the District of Columbia. And in a historic vote last November, Rep. Norton was able to muster 153 votes for statehood, not enough to pass the resolution, but far more than even her most ardent supporters had expected. The final tally on H.R. 51, the statehood resolution, was 277 nays, 153 ayes. But for Rep. Norton, success came two days earlier when the bill finally reached the floor of the House of Representatives. Norton is glad that
'the debate gave the first sustained national exposure for DC Statehood....'"--from page 23