23 1 (c) The Commission shall advise the President, the 2 Congress, the Mayor, the Council, and the Governor and 3. House of Delegates for the State of New Columbia, as 4 appropriate, concerning necessary procedures to effect an 5 orderly transition to statehood for the District of Colum6 bia. The Commission shall submit such reports as the 7 Commission considers appropriate or as may be requested. 8 (d) The Commission shall cease to exist 180 days 9 after the date of the admission into the Union of the State 10 of New Columbia. ⚫HR 2483 IH II. III. IV. a) Congress has exclusive legislative authority over the district which is the seat of government and for which sole purpose land was ceded by Maryland. Congress cannot by a simple legislative action delegate this authority to a state or abrogate this Constitutional grant (Article I, Section 8). b) No state may be created out of land belonging to another state without approval of the state (Article IV, Section 3). c) "The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States" shall elect 3 electors to cast votes in the electoral College (23rd Amendment). "As of the date of admission of New Columbia into the Union, the District of Columbia (constituting the seat of government of the United States) shall consist of the national Capital Service Area" (102nd Congress, H. R. 2482, page 2, line 22-25). Legal Issues a) Federal payment to a state b) Boundaries of New Columbia and the District of Columbia c) Federal road system and infrastructure inside a state d) Relationship with other states H. R. 2482 And Proposed State Constitution Issues a) All state and local government power concentrated in the hands of 25 legislators and 1 Governor b) Significant portion of state discretionary budget from federal gift c) Continuation of building height limitation - federal restrictions on an entire state Economic Issues a) Tax base b) Economic viability c) Commuter tax d) Business flight Mr. DYMALLY. The Subcommittee on Judiciary and Education of the District of Columbia Committee is called to order. Before we begin the formal part of the hearing, I just want to make a couple of observations about how we will proceed today. I have a very brief statement because I want to expedite this hearing. We have a number of witnesses today and Monday and I shall abstain from asking too many questions because this is not exactly a new subject with us. I also want to enter into the record the proceedings of the 100th Congress. This subject was explored in detail and I believe that those documents will serve as a good reference for us in the event that we have to take this matter up in any court of law. It's also the Chair's intention to refer this bill to the full committee, not to mark it up. In that respect, the Chair will entertain a motion from Ms. Norton to so proceed. MS. NORTON. I so move, Mr. Chairman. Mr. DYMALLY. H.R. 2482 is hereby referred to the full committee. Without objection, it is so ordered. Let me welcome all of the witnesses and give special thanks to the Mayor, two Senators and a Representative of the District. Historically, three questions have been central to the issue of statehood for any territory wishing to be considered for statehood. One, does the territory have the prerequisite population and resources? Two, do the people of the territory desire statehood? And three, do the citizens have a commitment to democracy? Extensive hearings have already been held on the subject of statehood for the District of Columbia in an effort to sort out these and other questions associated with statehood for the people of the District of Columbia. We are here today to hear further testimony on H.R. 2482 introduced in the 102d Congress by Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton to provide for the admission of the State of New Columbia into the Union. The Chair now recognizes Ms. Norton. [The prepared statement of Mr. Dymally follows:] OPENING STATEMENT of The Honorable Mervyn M. Dymally Chairman, Subcommittee on Judiciary and Education Thursday, November 14, 1991 I want to welcome all of you and give a special thanks to the witnesses for taking time away from your busy schedules to be here. Historically, three questions have been central to the issue of statehood for any territory wishing to be considered for statehood: (1) Does the territory have the prerequisite population and resources?; (2) Do the people of the territory desire statehood?; and (3) Do the citizens have a commitment to democracy? Extensive hearings have already been held on the subject of statehood for the District of Columbia in an effort to sort out these and other questions associated with statehood for the people of the District of Columbia. We are here today to hear further testimony on H.R. 2482 introduced in the 102nd Congress by the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton to provide for the admission of the State of New Columbia into the Union. MS. NORTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I very much appreciate the willingness of the Chair, Mr. Dymally, to convene these important, even historic hearings on H.R. 2482, to grant statehood to non-Federal areas of the District of Columbia. These hearings are historic not only because of the testimony that we will hear today, but because I hope that they will lay the predicate for the first vote on the House floor for D.C. statehood. It is much too late in history for any democratic nation even to attempt to offer rationalizations for the denial of full and equal rights to any of its citizens. President Bush, Democrats and Republicans alike have demanded of countries around the world that they give nothing less than full democracy to their citizens even at the risk of collapse of governments, chaos in societies and starvation among people. Particularly as democracy has spread around the world, the residents of the District of Columbia have grown angry that so little has been done to bring democracy right here to the home territory of our government from which so many pronouncements demanding full rights for others are heard everyday. It is time to leave behind the empty apologies and false legalisms and erase the stain on American democracy that leaves 650,000 Washingtonians second-class citizens in their own homeland and Capital City. I thank the Chair of the District Committee, Mr. Dellums, the Chair of this subcommittee, Mr. Dymally, and my other colleagues for their willingness to hear the people of the District and their elected representatives today and next Monday. I welcome and look forward to the testimony of all of today's witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [The prepared statement of Ms. Norton follows:] |