District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill CER25-0208 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	ENROLLED ORIGINAL
2		-	1
3		-
4		-
5		-
6		-	A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
7		-
8		-	25-208
9		-
10		-	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
11		-
12		-	April 2, 2024
13		-
14		-
	1	+	______________________________ ______________________________ 1
	2	+	Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Anita Bonds 2
	3	+	3
	4	+	4
	5	+	______________________________ ______________________________ 5
	6	+	Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Matthew Frumin 6
	7	+	7
	8	+	8
	9	+	______________________________ ______________________________ 9
	10	+	Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Zachary Parker 10
	11	+	11
	12	+	12
	13	+	______________________________ ______________________________ 13
	14	+	Councilmember Robert White Councilmember Vincent Gray 14
	15	+	15
	16	+	16
	17	+	______________________________ 17
	18	+	Councilmember Christina Henderson 18
	19	+	19
	20	+	20
	21	+	21
	22	+	22
	23	+	A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 23
	24	+	__________ 24
	25	+	25
	26	+	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 26
	27	+	__________ 27
	28	+	28
	29	+	29
15	30		To officially declare May 1
16	31		st
17		-	, 2024, as D.C. Statehood Day in the District of Columbia.
18		-
19		-	WHEREAS, the District of Columbia’s over 700,000 citizens pay more in federal income taxes
20		-	per capita than any other state and more in total federal income taxes than 22 states;
21		-
22		-	WHEREAS, the dollar amount of federal taxes paid by the residents of the District of Columbia
23		-	currently stands at $1,402,519,271;
24		-
25		-	WHEREAS, the United States Constitution as ratified in 1788 provided the right to vote for
26		-	representation in Congress to the “People of the several States” of the United States, which included
27		-	citizens living on the land that would later be designated by the federal government for the nation’s
28		-	capital as ceded by Maryland and Virginia to become the District of Columbia;
29		-
30		-	WHEREAS, despite the provision of the right to vote in the Constitution, through the enactment
31		-	of the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801”, D.C. residents were disenfranchised from voting for
32		-	representative Members of Congress more than 200 years ago;
33		-
34		-	WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has more residents that the States of Vermont and
35		-	Wyoming, and almost as many as Alaska and North Dakota ;
36		-
37		-	WHEREAS, the citizens of the District of Columbia continue to express their determination to
38		-	achieve full representation by electing 2 United States Senators and a United States Representative to
39		-	advocate for statehood and full democracy;
40		-
41		-	WHEREAS, citizens of the District of Columbia bear all of the responsibilities of citizenship,
42		-	including fighting in wars and serving in the military, paying federal income taxes, and serving on federal
43		-	juries;
44		-
45		-	WHEREAS, no other democratic nation denies basic rights of self-government, including
46		-	participation in the national legislature, to residents of its capital;
47		-
48		-	WHEREAS, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has released statements express ing
49		-	concern over this denial of representation to citizens in D.C.;
50		-
51		-	WHEREAS, the Organization of American States (OAS), to which the United States is a
52		-	signatory, ha s described the disenfranchisement of D.C. residents as a violation of its charter agreement;
53		-	ENROLLED ORIGINAL
54		-	2
55		-
56		-
57		-
58		-	WHEREAS, Congress often interferes in legislation passed by D.C.’s locally elected officials by
59		-	enacting spending restrictions on D.C. revenue, violating the fundamental principle that states and local
60		-	governments are best-suited to follow the will of their citizens;
61		-
62		-	WHEREAS, in spite of nearly 3 decades of balanced budgets, D.C. faces the possibility each year
63		-	of being shut down because of congressional interference , threatening both D.C. and national security;
64		-
65		-	WHEREAS, it has been more than 60 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and more
66		-	than 50 years since the District of Columbia was granted home rule, and the residents of the District of
67		-	Columbia have yet receive the same rights as the residents of the 50 states.
68		-
69		-	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, T hat this resolution
70		-	may be cited as the “D.C. Statehood Day Recognition Resolution of 2024. ”
71		-
	32	+	, 2024, as D.C. Statehood Day in the District of Columbia. 30
	33	+	31
	34	+	WHEREAS, the District of Columbia’s over 700,000 citizens pay more in federal income taxes 32
	35	+	per capita than any other state and more in total federal income taxes than 22 states; 33
	36	+	34
	37	+	WHEREAS, the dollar amount of federal taxes paid by the residents of the District of Columbia 35
	38	+	currently stands at $1,402,519,271; 36
	39	+	37
	40	+	WHEREAS, the United States Constitution as ratified in 1788 provided the right to vote for 38
	41	+	representation in Congress to the “People of the several States” of the United States, which included 39
	42	+	citizens living on the land that would later be designated by the federal government for the nation’s 40
	43	+	capital as ceded by Maryland and Virginia to become the District of Columbia; 41
	44	+	42
	45	+	WHEREAS, despite the provision of the right of vote in the Constitution, through the enactment 43
	46	+	of the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801”, D.C. residents were disenfranchised from voting for 44
	47	+	representative Members of Congress more than 200 years ago; 45
	48	+	46
	49	+	WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has more residents that the States of Vermont and 47
	50	+	Wyoming, and almost as many as North Dakota ; 48
	51	+	49 WHEREAS, the citizens of the District of Columbia continue to express their determination to 50
	52	+	achieve full representation by electing two United States Senators and a United States Representative to 51
	53	+	advocate for statehood and full democracy; 52
	54	+	53
	55	+	WHEREAS, citizens of the District of Columbia bear all of the responsibilities of citizenship, 54
	56	+	including fighting in wars and serving in the military, paying federal income taxes, and serving on federal 55
	57	+	juries; 56
	58	+	57
	59	+	WHEREAS, no other democratic nation denies basic rights of self-government, including 58
	60	+	participation in the national legislature, to residents of its capital; 59
	61	+	60
	62	+	WHEREAS, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has released statements express ing 61
	63	+	concern over this denial of representation to citizens in D.C.; 62
	64	+	63
	65	+	WHEREAS, the Organization of American States (OAS), to which the United States is a 64
	66	+	signatory, ha s described the disenfranchisement of D.C. residents as a violation of its charter agreement; 65
	67	+	66
	68	+	WHEREAS, Congress often interferes in legislation passed by D.C.’s locally elected officials by 67
	69	+	enacting spending restrictions on D.C. revenue, violating the fundamental principle that states and local 68
	70	+	governments are best-suited to follow the will of their citizens; 69
	71	+	70
	72	+	WHEREAS, in spite of nearly three decades of balanced budgets, D .C. faces the possibility each 71
	73	+	year of being shut down because of congressional interference, threatening both D .C. and national 72
	74	+	security; 73
	75	+	74
	76	+	WHEREAS, it has been more than 50 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and more 75
	77	+	than 40 years since the District of Columbia was granted home rule, and the residents of the District of 76
	78	+	Columbia have yet to have the same rights as the residents of the 50 states. 77
	79	+	78
	80	+	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that this resolution 79
	81	+	may be cited as the “D.C. Statehood Day R ecognition Resolution of 2024. ” 80
	82	+	81
72	83		Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia hereby declares May 1
73	84		st
74		-	, 2024 to be D.C.
75		-	Statehood Day and encourages leaders and residents to discuss statehood for the District of Columbia in
76		-	high-profile settings in an effort to educate Americans regarding the lack of congressional voting
77		-	representation and budget autonomy for the residents of the District.
78		-
79		-	Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
	85	+	, 2024 to be D.C. 82
	86	+	Statehood Day and encourages leaders and residents to discuss statehood for the District of Columbia in 83
	87	+	high-profile settings in an effort to educate Americans regarding the lack of congressional voting 84
	88	+	representation and budget autonomy for the residents of the District. 85
	89	+	86
	90	+	Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the 87
	91	+	District of Columbia Register. 88