PENNSYLVANIA, February 10 - approximately 689,545 residents, is comparable to the

populations of Wyoming (576,851), Vermont (643,077), Alaska

(733,391) and North Dakota (779,094); and

WHEREAS, Residents of the District of Columbia share all the

responsibilities of United States citizenship, including paying

more Federal taxes than residents of 22 states, service on

Federal juries and defending the United States as members of the

United States armed forces in every war since the War for

Independence, yet residents of the District of Columbia are

denied full representation in Congress; and

WHEREAS, Residents of the District of Columbia have endorsed

statehood for the District of Columbia and passed a district-

wide referendum on November 8, 2016, which favored statehood by

86%; and

WHEREAS, No other democratic nation denies the right of self-

government, including participation in national legislature, to

the residents of this nation's capital; and

WHEREAS, Residents of the District of Columbia lack full

democracy, equality and citizenship enjoyed by the residents of

the 50 states; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress repeatedly has interfered

with the District of Columbia's limited self-government by

enacting laws that affect the District of Columbia's expenditure

of locally raised tax revenue, including barring the usage of

locally raised revenue, thus violating the fundamental principle

that states and local governments are best suited to enact

legislation that represents the will of the residents; and

WHEREAS, Although the District of Columbia has passed

consecutive balanced budgets since fiscal year 1997, the

District of Columbia still faces the possibility of being shut

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