On September 19th, Congress held a hearing regarding D.C. statehood for the first time in 25 years. The hearing happened as a result of H.R 51, a bill that would make D.C. a state, which was sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting member of Congress that represents the district. Councilmembers and Mayor Bowser testified at the hearing, which was held by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform.
University president Thomas LeBlanc took action, writing a letter to the committee. LeBlanc is passionate about the push for statehood as he feels it would aid in expanding the amount of research the university could do by allowing access to federal grants and funding.
LeBlanc is joined by both other university presidents as well as students. At GW, students advocate for statehood through multiple avenues, one being the student organization Students for D.C. Statehood. Other university presidents in the district, including Georgetown, American University, and Trinity Washington University wrote letter for support to the committee as well.
To learn more about this, check out the full GW Hatchet article here
