WASHINGTON, D.C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today issued the following statement on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holding a hearing on S. 51, which would make most of the District of Columbia a state.
"Today, our fight for representation marches forward in the Senate, just two months after the House passed legislation to make the District a state," said AG Racine. “If senators truly listen to today’s testimony, they will learn Congress has the constitutional authority and a moral responsibility to grant statehood for the workers, parents, children, teachers, and small business owners across the District. For many senators, the word ‘freedom’ is part of a lexicon they use at rallies and in speeches. But for us, we know what it means to live without it. The lack of freedom impacts our communities every day. We deserve a voice and representation, just as much as every other American does.”
AG Racine has been a vocal advocate for statehood for the District. As the District’s chief legal officer, he has reinforced that Congress unquestionably has the constitutional authority to make parts of the District a state. In fact, Congress created 37 new states through legislative action and it already twice shrunk the size of the federal district.
In April, AG Racine led a coalition of 24 attorneys general in pushing back against the misguided arguments from a group of Republican attorneys general who the day before sent congressional leaders a letter opposing statehood.
The District’s diverse, thriving communities that lack representation in Congress, are made up of:
- Nearly 140,000 children and more than 4,000 teachers.
- More than 76,000 small businesses that employ nearly 250,000 people.
- Nearly 65 percent of small businesses in the District are minority owned.
- Nearly 50 percent of our residents are Black, and 12 percent of District families live in poverty.