DC Statehood Day Recognition Resolution of 2025

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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

May 6, 2025

To officially declare May 1st, 2025, as DC Statehood Day in the District of Columbia.

WHEREAS, the District of Columbia’s more than 700,000 citizens pay more federal
income taxes than 22 states, and more federal income taxes per capita than any state;

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution, as ratified in 1788, provided the right to vote
for representation in Congress to the “People of the several States” of the United States, which
included citizens living on the land that would later be designated by the federal government for
the nation’s capital as ceded by Maryland and Virginia to become the District of Columbia;

WHEREAS, despite the provision of the right of vote in the Constitution, through the
enactment of the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801”, DC residents were disenfranchised
from voting for representative Members of Congress more than 200 years ago;

WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has more citizens than the States of Vermont and
Wyoming, and almost as many as Alaska and North Dakota;

WHEREAS, the citizens of the District of Columbia continue to express their
determination to achieve full representation by electing 2 United States Senators and a United
States Representative to advocate for statehood and full democracy;

WHEREAS, citizens of the District of Columbia bear all the responsibilities of
citizenship, including fighting in wars and serving in the military, paying federal income taxes,
and serving on federal juries;

WHEREAS, no other democratic nation denies basic rights of self-government, including
participation in the national legislature, to residents of its capital;

WHEREAS, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has released statements
expressing concern over this denial of representation to citizens in DC;

WHEREAS, the Organization of American States (OAS), to which the United States is a
signatory, has described the disenfranchisement of DC residents as a violation of its charter
agreement;
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WHEREAS, Congress often interferes in legislation passed by DC’s locally elected
officials by enacting spending restrictions on DC revenue, violating the fundamental principle
that state and local governments are best suited to follow the will of their citizens;

WHEREAS, despite nearly 3 decades of balanced budgets, DC faces the possibility each
year of being shut down because of congressional interference, threatening both DC and national
security;

WHEREAS, it has been more than 60 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and
more than 50 years since the District of Columbia was granted limited home rule, and the
residents of the District of Columbia have yet to receive the same rights as the residents of the 50
states.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “DC Statehood Day Recognition Resolution of 2025.”

Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia hereby declares May 1st, 2025 to be DC
Statehood Day and encourages leaders and residents to discuss statehood for the District of
Columbia in high-profile settings to educate Americans regarding the lack of congressional
voting representation and full budget autonomy for the residents of the District.

Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.