PRINTER'S NO. 1561
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
102
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY KENYATTA, STURLA, HILL-EVANS, N. NELSON,
SCHLOSSBERG, SAMUELSON, SHUSTERMAN AND SANCHEZ, MAY 17, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 17, 2021
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging the Congress of the United States to admit Washington,
DC, as the 51st state of the United States of America.
WHEREAS, Washington, DC, was established in 1790 to serve as
the seat of the Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, For a brief time after the District of Columbia was
created, residents were given voting rights and had the ability
to cast ballots as residents of Maryland or Virginia; and
WHEREAS, When the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801
passed, Washington, DC, residents were stripped of the rights to
vote in all Federal elections and Congress was given oversight
of the city; and
WHEREAS, Residents of the District of Columbia were not
afforded presidential electors until 1961 and the residents were
not given a nonvoting delegate in the United States House of
Representatives until 1970; and
WHEREAS, Since the creation of the District of Columbia, it
is the only political and geographical entity within the United
States of America whose residents have continuously been denied
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their full set of rights as American citizens; and
WHEREAS, Residents of Washington, DC, pay Federal taxes,
contribute to our national economy and serve in the military but
are unable to control their own budget or have true
representation in the Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, Washington, DC, citizens face not only equal
representation issues but also racial inequality issues; and
WHEREAS, The District of Columbia is a historically Black
city with Black people still making up the majority of the
population; and
WHEREAS, American democracy systematically over represents
white voters and this is exacerbated with the lack of
representation from Washington, DC, in the Federal Government;
and
WHEREAS, Due to this lack of representation, there is wide
oppression and continuous disenfranchisement of Black Americans;
and
WHEREAS, Every year since 1991, Washington, DC's, Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced legislation that would
grant statehood to the district; and
WHEREAS, As a third-generation Washingtonian, Delegate Norton
has been witness to the inequalities that the denial of
statehood has brought upon Washington, DC, and continuously
fights for the district's equal representation; and
WHEREAS, This year, the bill aiming to achieve such an
important goal is H.R. 51; and
WHEREAS, At least 11 states have sponsored legislative
resolutions and issued formal letters to show their support for
Washington, DC, statehood; and
WHEREAS, Now is the time to show the people of Washington,
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DC, that their voices matter; therefore be it
RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the
United States to admit Washington, DC, as the 51st state of the
United States of America; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to pass H.R.
51 or other legislation that allows Washington, DC, to become
the 51st state of the United States of America; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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