WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and 40 of his colleagues as a cosponsor of the District of Columbia statehood bill for the 119th Congress in the Senate, following Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-D.C.) introduction of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bills are numbered S. 51 and H.R. 51, respectively, highlighting the lawmakers’ effort to admit Washington, D.C. into the Union as its 51st state.
“This is about equality. This is about American citizens being treated with the same level of rights and dignity, no matter where they live. And that is fundamental and is a story that we should all be inspired by,” said Heinrich. “My home state of New Mexico had a similar struggle to achieve statehood. It took 50 New Mexico statehood bills and 64 years before we were finally admitted to the United States. It is long past due for the American citizens living in the District of Columbia to get the representation that they deserve.”
In the Senate, this legislation is led by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Alongside Heinrich, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The full text of the bill is available here.
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