January 4, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

INTRODUCTION OF THE in the Senate. In addition, then-President and all 37 new states have been admitted by WASHINGTON, D.C. ADMISSION ACT Barack Obama endorsed D.C. statehood in a an act of Congress. The Constitution’s District public forum before the statehood hearing was Clause sets a maximum size of the federal HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON held. In the 115th Congress, not only was district (100 square miles). It does not set a OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA there a record number of original cosponsors minimum size. Congress previously has IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of the bill, with 116 in the House and 18 in the changed the size of the federal district, includ- Senate, but also a record number of cospon- ing reducing it by 30 percent in 1846. Monday, January 4, 2021 sors in the House (181) and Senate (30). I seek statehood for the Americans I am Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today The 116th Congress, however, represented honored to represent. At the same time, D.C. to introduce the Washington, D.C. Admission a turning point in the march to D.C. statehood. statehood is deeply personal for me. My great- Act with 202 cosponsors, a record number of For the first time in American history, a Cham- grandfather Richard Holmes, who escaped as original cosponsors of the District of Columbia ber of Congress voted to make Washington, a slave from a Virginia plantation, made it as statehood bill. This is the most important bill I Douglass Commonwealth the 51st state. We far as D.C., a walk to freedom but not to equal introduce each Congress, and it made historic introduced the bill with a record number of citizenship. For three generations my family strides in the last Congress. District residents original cosponsors in the House (155) and has been denied the rights other Americans have always been citizens of the United Senate (28), and had, by far, a record number take for granted. There are many other D.C. States and pay more federal taxes per capita of cosponsors in the House (227), which was residents like me. than the residents of any state, but are the more than enough to pass the bill with co- I strongly urge my colleagues to support this only federal income taxpaying Americans who sponsors alone, and in the Senate (42). More legislation. do not have full and equal citizenship rights. than 100 national organizations endorsed the f bill. The denial of local control on local matters HONORING JOSEPH A. PROVONCHA, and of equal representation in Congress can The United States is the only democratic country that denies the residents of the na- THE MOST SENIOR COUNTY be remedied only by statehood. My introduc- CLERK IN NEW YORK STATE, tion of this bill this Congress comes after this tion’s capital both voting rights in the national legislature and local autonomy. We have both FOR HIS LONG-TIME SERVICE TO Chamber’s historic and decisive passage of NEW YORKERS the Washington, D.C. Admission Act in the the moral obligation and legal authority to end 116th Congress. I look forward to building on this injustice. Statehood is the only solution for full and our historic momentum. HON. ELISE M. STEFANIK equal citizenship rights for residents of the The Washington, D.C. Admission Act cre- OF NEW YORK District. To be content with less than state- ates a state from the eight hometown wards of IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES hood is to concede the equality of citizenship the District. This 51st state, of course, would Monday, January 4, 2021 that is the birthright of our residents as citi- have no jurisdiction over the federal district zens of the United States. That is a conces- Ms. STEFANIK. Madam Speaker, I rise that now consists of the Washington that sion no American citizen has ever made, and today to honor Joseph A. Provoncha for his Members of Congress and visitors associate one that D.C. residents will not tolerate in their service and dedication to his community as with the capital of our country. The U.S. Cap- 220th year of fighting for equal treatment in the most senior County Clerk in New York itol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme their country. This bill reaffirms our determina- State. Court, the principal federal monuments, fed- tion to obtain each and every right enjoyed by Joseph first took office on January 1, 1992 eral buildings and grounds and the National citizens of the United States, by becoming the as an Essex County Clerk and was elected to Mall would remain in the federal district, which 51st state in the Union. his eighth term in 2019. Joseph is now the would be called the Capital. Our bill provides Since the nation’s founding, District resi- most senior County Clerk in New York State. that the State of Washington, Douglass Com- dents have always carried all of the obliga- Throughout his career, he has held a variety monwealth would be equal to the other 50 tions of citizenship, including serving in all of of different positions in addition to his roles as states in all respects, as is always required, the nation’s wars and payment of federal County Clerk and Agent for the DMV Commis- and that the residents of the State of Wash- taxes, all without equal voting representation sioner; these include Records Management ington, D.C. would have all the rights of citi- on the floor in either House of Congress or Officer, Commissioner of Jurors, and Commis- zenship, including two senators and, initially, freedom from congressional interference in sioner of Youth Services. He has been recog- one House member. purely local matters. nized many times throughout his prominent A substantially similar version of the Wash- D.C. statehood has both the facts and the career being presented with the Liberty Bell ington, D.C. Admission Act was the first bill I Constitution on its side. The Constitution does Award by the Essex County BAR Association introduced after I was first sworn in as a Mem- not establish any prerequisites for new states, in 1997 and in 2014, the Lifetime Achievement ber of Congress in the 102nd Congress in but Congress has generally considered three Award by the New York State Association of 1991. Our first try for statehood received sig- factors in admission decisions: resources and County Clerks in 2001, and the William H. nificant support in the House. In 1993, the population, support for statehood and commit- Kelley Annual Archives Award by the New House voted on the D.C. statehood bill, which ment to democracy. York State Archives and the Archives Partner- was the first time either Chamber had done D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita ship Trust in 2018. He was named Clerk of so, with nearly 60 percent of Democrats and than any state and pays more federal taxes Year in 1996. Additionally, he served as the one Republican voting for the bill. The Senate than 22 states. D.C.’s population of 712,000 is Association President of the New York State held a hearing on various approaches to rep- larger than those of two states, and the new Association of County Clerks in 2000 and has resentation for D.C., but the committee of ju- state would be one of seven states with a been serving as the Recording Secretary risdiction did not proceed further. In the 113th population under one million. D.C.’s budget is since 2006. Congress, our statehood bill got unprece- larger than those of 12 states, and D.C.’s Joseph’s exemplary service is a testament dented momentum with the Senate’s first-ever bond rating is higher than those of 35 states. to the character of our North Country neigh- hearing on D.C. statehood. That was the first D.C. has a higher per capita personal income bors. In his role, he has ensured anyone who congressional hearing on D.C. statehood in and gross domestic product than any state. walks into the Essex County Clerk’s Office more than 20 years, since the House held a Eighty-six percent of D.C. residents voted for leaves with their questions answered and hearing on statehood in 1993. In the 113th statehood in 2016. In fact, D.C. residents have problems solved. His longtime dedication to Congress, we obtained a record number of co- been fighting for voting rights in Congress and his role as County Clerk has served the com- sponsors in the House and Senate, including local autonomy for 219 years. munity very well as he has spent his career then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as The Constitution’s Admissions Clause gives assisting others navigate the complexities of well as the other top three Democratic leaders Congress the authority to admit new states, bureaucracy.

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

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