testimony of muriel bowser, mayor of washington, dc …

TESTIMONY OF MURIEL BOWSER, MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, DC

Before the Committee on Homeland Security and

Government Accountability U.S. Senate

Gary Peters, Chairman Rob Portman, Ranking Member

S. 51, Washington, D.C. Admission Act

June 22, 2021

Testimony of Mayor Muriel Bowser, as prepared. 1

Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Portman, and members of this

esteemed Committee, thank you for convening this hearing on S. 51, the

Washington, D.C. Admission Act which provides the 700,000 residents

of the District of Columbia full democracy.

I am Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, DC, and I am honored to

come before this committee with a simple but powerful request: Senators,

right the wrong that occurred some 220 years ago when the residents of

the District of Columbia were stripped of their full congressional

representation and do it now. The Constitution left the issue of democracy

for the residents of the District of Columbia to the Congress. The House

of Representatives has passed the Washington, DC Admission Act twice,

and the White House has indicated its support for the bill through a

Statement of Administration Policy. Our democracy is truly in the hands

of this Senate. It is time for the U.S. Senate to support our petition for DC

Statehood.


My testimony today echos many of the arguments that I made before the

House Committee on Oversight and Reform in March of 2021 and in

September of 2019; and many of the same arguments made by my

predecessor, Mayor Vincent Gray, in 2014 at the last DC Statehood

hearing held by this chamber.

Then, as now, the District’s call for full democracy has been drowned out

by arguments that ignore the fact that the second-class status of District

residents is clearly an anomaly of the U.S. Constitution, not a feature of

it.

Over the decades, arguments against DC Statehood have ranged from

preposterous assertions to inaccurate legal claims. Just to cite a couple: in

2019, we were asked about what would happen to the parking spots for

congressional staff if the District becomes a state. We were at a loss to see

the correlation between full democracy for 700,000 American citizens and

a few parking spaces. This past March, I was confronted with concerns

that the District could not be a state because it does not have a car


dealership – even though it does. Statements like these not only discount

the civil rights of District residents, they also demonstrate a true lack of

understanding of the rapidly growing and thriving businesses,

communities, and culture that surround the small Federal presence. It is

for those neighborhoods, Michigan Park, Congress Park and Mount

Pleasant, Columbia Heights and Hillcrest among them—that make up

99% of the District—and the people who live in them and who come to

DC for school, government service, or other work that I appear today to

petition for full equality.

There is no legal or constitutional barrier to DC Statehood; the prevailing

constitutional issue is the civil rights violation of 700,000 DC residents

who fulfill all obligations of U.S. citizenship but are denied any

representation in this body. I can say unequivocally that the bill before

you today, S. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act is constitutional.

Dozens of America’s most recognized constitutional experts have


testified before Congress and penned letters to that effect. 1 Scholars and

experts have opined that it is fully within Congress’ power, under the

Constitution, to make DC a state through passage of S. 51:

• The Constitution’s Admissions Clause (Article IV, Section 3) grants

Congress authority to admit states into the union, including DC.

Following the 13 colonies, all 37 states were admitted by Congress

through this constitutional authority. States were not added solely

because of a particular industry, or the size of its land mass—states

were added to include the people.

• The Constitution’s District Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 17)

poses no barrier to admitting DC as a new state. The District Clause

sets a maximum size of 10 square miles for the federal district, not

a minimum size. S. 51 retains a Federal District, as required by the

Constitution; it encompasses the unpopulated areas that make up the

1 Letter to Congressional Leaders on Constitutionality of Statehood for Washington D.C. May 22 2021.pdf


federal presence – the House and Senate Office Buildings, the White

House, the Capitol, the monuments and museums on the National

Mall, and other federal buildings and land (see attached map).

• The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which granted DC

residents a vote for President in 1961, does not pose a constitutional

barrier to statehood either. The bill addresses it head on by repealing

statutory language that enables the appointment of electors and

including expedited procedures for consideration of the repeal of the

unnecessary constitutional amendment, thus virtually ensuring

quick and certain ratification by the states to ensure no ambiguity

about electoral votes for an unpopulated federal enclave. S.51

outlines a clear path forward on how to address the 23rd Amendment.

Any concerns about the ramifications of the amendment can be

addressed post-DC Statehood.

It is particularly contradictory that the 23rd Amendment, which was

passed to expand democracy to taxpaying DC residents, is now


being held up as the main barrier to further expanding constitutional

rights in the District. This flies in the face of the amendment’s intent.

• Retrocession to Maryland is not required by the Constitution, nor is

it addressed in the Constitution. Maryland has no claim to the land

it ceded to the federal government when the District was founded.

Would this body argue that Maine should retrocede to

Massachusetts? Or that West Virginia should return to Virginia? Of

course not.

To be clear, DC’s current status is due to generations of inactivity by

lawmakers, including the Founding Fathers themselves, failing to address

the contradiction that residents of the U.S. capital are treated as second-

class citizens.

With no constitutional underpinning, the disenfranchisement of

Washingtonians is the most glaring civil rights and voting rights issue of

our time. In fact, we are the only capital city among the world’s


democracies without voting rights in the national legislature. In two

weeks, the country will celebrate Independence Day and the

establishment of the United States as a sovereign nation, free from

taxation without representation. Yet the 700,000 predominately Black and

Brown Americans living in our nation’s capital have continued to pay

taxes without representation for over 200 years.

As we celebrate our nationhood, I appeal to this Senate to end the ongoing

systemic injustice faced by the growing population of District residents

and vote for DC Statehood in the 117th Congress. I am calling on you to

swiftly grant full democracy to the residents of the District of Columbia.

I cannot emphasize enough: the civil rights and full democracy of DC

residents are in your hands.

• We are 700,000 people; some born here, others from all 50 states

and the many nations of the world.

• We Washingtonians serve proudly in our military and fight for our

country – yet have no representation or voice in this Senate.


• We Washingtonians have served as front line and essential workers

during the pandemic - doctors, nurses, firefighters, schoolteachers -

yet had no say in this Senate when the District was shortchanged in

the CARES Act funding in 2020.

• We Washingtonians heroically defended our nation’s capital during

the January 6th insurrection by answering the call to support our

federal partners – despite not having a voice in this Senate.

• We Washingtonians have no say when this Senate considers

presidential nominations, Supreme Court justices, and large

investments like the American Jobs Plan.

I ask you today to treat District residents the same as all other taxpaying

American citizens. Your inaction could doom yet another generation of

young native Washingtonians to being locked out of their constitutionally-

given political power and human rights. Will this body perpetuate this

civil rights and voting rights wrong by parroting false arguments? By what

authority would this body have Washingtonians continue to pay federal


income taxes without a voice? Today, I am asking this U.S. Senate to

usher in a new age of fairness and equality for 700,000 District residents.

Our fate is not in the hands of the Founding Fathers; they left this decision

for later generations. It is not in the hands of the courts either. The courts

have been clear that this is a political issue, and by its very nature, is within

the domain of Congress. It is not in the hands of the U.S. House of

Representatives, as they have passed the bill twice. And it is not in the

hands of the President of the United States, as he has pledged to sign the

bill into law once it reaches his desk. The 700,000 residents that I

represent are looking to the 100 members of this Senate for immediate

action to rectify this longstanding injustice.

I promise you: DC residents have been at this for nearly 220 years. We

will not quit until we achieve full democracy – and our two senators are

seated here with you. DC residents are not standing alone. Over the years

we have garnered the support of Americans of all stripes and beliefs: the

bi-partisan United States Conference of Mayors, representing millions of


Americans in big cities and small towns; the non-partisan League of

Women Voters who for 100 years have fought to defend our democracy;

the NAACP; the Human Rights Campaign; and the Leadership

Conference on Civil and Human Rights – who recognize DC Statehood

for the civil and human rights contradiction that it is; to your former

colleague and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman whose focus on justice

and fairness makes plain why partisan considerations have absolutely

nothing to do with the quest of DC citizens for full democracy and

absolutely no place in ensuring that S.51 moves forward in the 117th

Congress.

Together, with leaders from across America, we will keep pushing until

DC’s tragic disenfranchisement is rectified. You have the power to make

two things happen that I see so clearly in my mind’s eye and feel so deeply

in my heart and soul true: 1) With your courageous, clear-eyed focus on

fairness and perfecting our union today, this session, this Congress, you

will vote to admit DC into our great American union and 2) prayerfully, I

will be the last DC mayor who needs to sit here demanding what is our


birthright, and what is owed to us as taxpayers—full citizenship and full

democracy.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration.

Your fellow American,

Muriel Bowser on behalf of residents of the District of Columbia


H S

T N

W

I ST

NW

E ST

NW

F ST

NW

INTERSTATE 395 I

4TH ST SE

3RD ST SE

IND

EPEN

DEN

CE A

VE

SW

I ST

SW

4TH ST SW

4TH ST NE

3RD ST NE

2ND ST NE

G S

T SW

9TH ST NW

7TH ST NW

L ST

SE

E ST

SE

I ST

SE

7TH ST SW

K ST

SE

15TH ST NW

14TH ST NW

D S

T N

E

H S

T N

E

M S

T SE

M S

T SW

17TH ST NWC

ST S

E

23RD ST NW

12TH ST NW

3RD ST NW

9TH ST SW

6TH ST NW

VIRGIN

IA A

VE NW

INTE

R STA

TE69

5I

1ST ST SE

21ST ST NW

MA

DIS

ON

DR

NW

10TH ST NW

18TH ST NW

19TH ST NW

2ND ST SE

JEFF

ERSO

N D

R S

W

5THSTNE

D S

T SE

C ST

NE

PEN

NSY

LVA

NIA

AV

E N

W

1ST ST NW

OHIO D

R SW

5TH ST NW

12TH ST SW

SOUTH CAPITOL ST

3RD ST SW

C ST

SW

NEW JERSEY AVE SE

M AINE AVE

SW

EST

EXPY

NW

F ST

NE

11TH ST NW

GW

MEMORIA

LPKW

YSW

12TH

STEX

PY

SW

1ST ST NE

13TH ST NW

6TH ST SW

2ND ST NW

VIRG

INIA

AVE

SE

I ST

NE

NEW JERSEY AVE NW

14TH ST SW

C ST

NW

A S

T N

E

INTER

STATE66I

MA

SSA

CHU

SETT

S A

VE

NW

D S

T SW

EAS

TBASI

ND

RSW

NEW

YO

RK A

VE

NW

2ND ST SW

NORTH CAPITOL ST

CON

STIT

UTI

ON

AV

E N

E

IND

EPEN

DEN

CE A

VE

SE

24TH ST NW

EAST

CA

PITO

L ST

HALF ST SE

ROCHAMBEA

UB

RG

SW

A S

T SE

G S

T SE

K ST

SW

2ND PL SE

HALF ST SW

OH

IODR

NW

1ST ST SW

F ST

SE

IND

IAN

AA

VE

NW

G S

T N

W

5THSTSE

E ST

SW

DELAWARE AVE SW

BUCKEYE DR SW

LOUIS

IANA A

VE NW

8TH ST NW

FRO

NTA

GE

RD

SW

4TH ST NW

G P

L N

E

L'ENFANT PROMENADE SW

D S

T N

W

G S

T N

E

WATER ST SW

G P

L N

W

ARLI

NG

TON

MEM

ORI

AL

BRG

SW

H S

T SW

VIRG

INIA

AVE

SW

3RD PL SE

MARYL

AN

DA

VE

SW

E L LIP

SER

D

NW

E ST

NE

17TH ST SW

15THSTSW

12TH ST EXPY NW

CON

STIT

UT I

ON

AV

EN

W

WHARF ST SW

W

ASHIN

GTON BLVD SW

EAST EXECUTIVE AVE NW

COLU

MB

US

CIR

NE

20TH ST NW

22ND ST NW

HENRY BACON DR NW

23RD ST SW

JACKSON PL NW

13TH ST SW

2ND ST NW

3RD ST SW

OHIODR

SW

C ST

SW

F ST

NW

E ST

NW

D S

T N

W

C ST

NW

INTERSTATE66I

INTERSTATE 395 I

I ST

NW

C ST

SW

I ST

NW

WASHINGT ON BLVD SW

4TH ST NW

5THSTNE

1ST ST SE

I ST

NW

E ST

NW

6TH ST SW

1ST ST NE

DST

NW

D S

T SW

20TH ST NW

G S

T N

W

22ND ST NW

G S

T N

W

8TH ST NW

2ND ST SE

H S

T N

W

D S

T N

W

PEN

NSY

LVAN

IAA

VEN

W

INT E

RS T

ATE

695

I

CST

NE

H S

T SW

H S

T N

W

I ST

NW

G S

T N

W

I ST

NW

C ST

NW

F ST

NW

E ST

SW

I ST

NW

D S

T N

W

1ST ST NW

C ST

SW

D S

T SW

D S

T SE

CST

NE

OHIODR

SWG

WM

EMORIA

L PKWY SW

F ST

NW

5THSTSE

H S

T SW

0500

1,000

1,500

Feet

´

Gov

ernm

ent o

f the

Dis

tric

t of C

olum

bia

Off

ice

of P

lann

ing

Prop

osed

Fed

eral

Dis

tric

t

This

map

was

cre

ated

for p

lann

ing

purp

oses

from

a v

arie

ty o

f so

urce

s. I

t is

nei

ther

asu

rvey

nor

a le

gal d

ocum

ent.

Inf

orm

atio

npr

ovid

ed

by

othe

r ag

enci

es

shou

ld

beve

rifie

d w

ith

them

w

here

ap

prop

riate

.

OPID0030625

Fede

ral D

istr

ict

Clar

ifica

tion

of tr

eatm

ent

for F

ranc

es P

erki

ns B

uild

ing

US C

apito

l

Whi

teH

ouse

Linc

oln

Mem

oria

l

Unio

nSt

atio

n

Was

hing

ton

Mon

umen

t

testimony of muriel bowser, mayor of washington, dc …

Documents