Senator Carper Statement on the D.C. Disapproval Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), today issued the following statement after a vote on the Senate Floor on a resolution of disapproval related to Washington D.C.’s revised Criminal Code Act of 2022.

“There are nearly 700,000 Americans who call the District of Columbia home and they do not have a voting representative in either chamber of Congress. Moreover, these hardworking D.C. residents pay the most in per-capita federal income taxes in the country but have no say in how these dollars are spent. Every day, the citizens of D.C. work in the shadow of our Capitol — a beacon for democracy around the world — and yet, a historic injustice still exists. This is wrong.

“Washington, D.C. should be a state. At its core, this isn’t a partisan issue – it’s an issue of basic fairness. That’s why I’ve led the charge in the Senate for a decade now to build support for D.C. statehood and grant the tax-paying Americans living in the District the ability to fully participate in our democracy. Right now, we have a record number of Senate cosponsors for legislation to make D.C. the 51^st state, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to make D.C. Statehood a reality.

“Further, Congress should allow Mayor Bowser and the D.C. City Council to work together on additional revisions to the criminal code reform bill, just like every other governor and legislature across the country. If even the D.C. City Council recognizes there is more work to be done then I believe that the Senate should recognize that, as well.”

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