Dear Senators and Congressional Representatives,

As employers in Washington, D.C., we write to express our support for the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. We represent a portion of the over 39,000 employers in the District that employ over 537,000 people and pay over $51 billion in wages annually. The signatories to this letter are businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions who know that statehood for our employees and customers must happen now.

We deserve a full congressional delegation to join us in strengthening the economy of the District. As a pandemic raged throughout the country this past year, Congress passed bills for business relief, PPP loans, and increased unemployment benefits. 

But, we as D.C. employers did not have any voting representatives or senators from the District of Columbia reaching out to local businesses and employers to know how to best support us in the face of the COVID-19 public health and economic disaster. The predictable and disastrous result was that D.C. received just $500 million in CARES Act funding while all states received at least $1.25 billion. Now, many small businesses and organizations have been forced to permanently or temporarily close, devastating the livelihoods of thousands of D.C. residents.  

As employers, we want the best for our customers and employees, many of whom call D.C. their home. It is unconscionable that our customers, who are among the 712,000 Americans who pay federal taxes in D.C., have no voting representation in Congress. This is long overdue. Our customers and employees are demanding D.C. statehood --86 percent of D.C. residents voted in favor of statehood in our 2016 referendum. 

We hope that you, our nation’s congressional leaders, will be on the right side of history by co-sponsoring D.C. statehood legislation to create a thriving 51st state for the 712,000 Americans living in Washington, D.C. We’re ready to jump in to support your work. 

Signed, 

Name, Title, Company