AFSCME praises House vote to admit District of Columbia as 51st state

WASHINGTON — AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement praising House passage of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51):

“It is long past due for the residents of the District of Columbia to have the same rights and freedoms as every other American living in the 50 states. It is unacceptable that more than 700,000 D.C. residents, nearly half of whom are African American, pay some of the highest federal taxes in the country yet continue to be disenfranchised, lacking the self-governing autonomy, full voting rights and representation in Congress they deserve. This injustice flies in the face of our nation’s founding principles and denies justice and equity to a population larger than that of several states. AFSCME urges the Senate to pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act immediately.”