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BISHOP VOTES TO END TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION FOR D.C. RESIDENTS

June 26, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement regarding the passage of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act by the full U.S. House of Representatives:

"Our country was founded upon many ideals, one of which is the right to self-government. And yet for 200 years, Washington, D.C. residents have paid taxes and watched as our Legislative Branch decides their policy, without accountability. The IRS's gross collections from D.C. are larger than 22 states and more per capita than all 50 states. Despite its small size, D.C. has more residents than two current states and a higher GDP per capita than all 50 states. D.C. residents deserve to be full members of the United States. Today, I proudly voted to end taxation without representation for 705,749 American citizens."

The Washington, D.C. Admission Act:

  • Establishes the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st State of the Union. This is the same process used for all 37 states added to the original 13.
  • Gives D.C. residents equal voting rights as any other state in the Union—two senators and one representative based on their population size.
  • Reduces the size of the federal district to the areas encompassing the Capitol, the White House, Supreme Court, principal federal monuments, and federal buildings adjacent to the National Mall. Changing the size of the federal district has been done twice previously.

The full text of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act can be found here.