Facts About the District of Columbia 

 
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Citizens of the District of Columbia fulfill all obligations of citizenship yet are denied full and equal representation in Congress and are denied the ability to be the final arbiters over their own local tax dollars and laws. Admitting the residential and commercial portions of the District as a state is the only way legislatively to give the District permanent equal representation in Congress and legislative and budget autonomy. 

Below are a few key facts to support why citizens of the District deserve to be a state:

  • In 2016, a referendum on statehood was approved overwhelmingly with 86% of the vote.

  • The District of Columbia is the only political and geographical entity within the United States of America whose citizens bear the responsibilities of citizenship, including taxation and Selective Service registration, without sharing in the full rights and privileges of citizenship.

  • Over 192,000 citizens of the District have fought in our armed forces in service to our nation in every war and foreign conflict.

  • In fiscal year 2018, District residents and businesses paid over $26 billion in federal taxes; this is more than the taxes collected from 22 states and the highest federal taxes per capita.

  • The District has balanced its budget every year since fiscal year 1997, yet Congress and the President have restricted the District from spending local tax dollars as our elected Council and Mayor have directed.

  • The District government receives less federal funds as a percentage of its budget than Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, and North Dakota, and is on par with Alabama, Montana, Vermont, and West Virginia.

  • The District has a population of more than 700,000 people, which is a larger population than Wyoming and Vermont.

  • The Congress has final approval on all District laws, unlike any other jurisdiction in the country.

  • District residents are subject to all of the laws of the United States, as well as treaties made with foreign governments, without ever having consented through Congressional representation to such laws.

  • Statehood is the only way to grant and guarantee the citizens of the District irrevocable and inalienable rights to full citizenship.