Statehood No Other Way is the start of a nationwide campaign to get the word out about the disenfranchisement of the citizens of our Nation’s Capital. It is the start of a new movement to finally fulfill the promise of democracy for the residents of the District of Columbia by making DC the 51st state of the union, New Columbia. It recognizes that only through statehood will the citizens of our Nation’s Capital finally be equal members of the democracy that they have served, paid for and died to defend for more than 200 years.

Currently, there is legislation in the United States House of Representative to make the District a state. H.R 317, The New Columbia Admission Act, was reintroduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in the 114th Congress with ninety-four co-introducers, a record number.  We hope to have  companion legislation introduced in the Senate in the very near future. With the support of legislators from all across  the country, we intend to ultimately pass  legislation to bring full democracy to the 650,000  loyal American citizens of Washington, DC. Although  the partisan nature of our struggle makes it unlikely that this will happen in the current congress, we understand that a new Congress is just two years away and that now is the time to organize and stand up for our rights.

You can help by signing the petition on this web-site, contacting your Representatives and Senators and telling them to support the New Columbia Admission Act, learning more from the many organizations listed on this site or, most importantly, making a contribution to: Statehood NOW Foundation.

Statehood – No Other Way Foundation

The Statehood – No Other Way Foundation was founded on the belief that the only reasonable course of action to fully restore the basic civil rights taken away from Washingtonians more than 200 ago is the pursuit of statehood. It’s easy, to be equal in the United States of America you need to be one of the “United States”; anything less is less. Statehood would restore autonomy over our budget and legal systems, give us voting representation in both houses of Congress and allow us to collect the two to three billion dollars we lose every year by not being a state. It takes a simple majority vote in Congress and it is therefore the simplest, most direct route to equality for the loyal citizens of our Nation’s Capital. Now is the time stand up for our rights and the Foundation has been established to fund our effort and spread the word.

Although I was elected with 207,000 votes, the city has never funded my office. Currently I am being offered a small amount of money which would be administered through a commission co-chaired by the Mayor and Chairman of the city council.  This is not the way to effectively advocate for the people who elected me. I don’t work for the city, I’m elected and I work for the voters. Doling out a pittance through a bureaucratic apparatus which will only inhibit my ability to be effective is unacceptable.  We need to pursue a consistent and aggressive strategy of education, lobbying and activism and that takes resources. The Statehood – No Other Way Foundation will seek private funding to provide the resources I need to keep building the momentum we have created for DC statehood. Inside City Hall they like to “talk the talk” — but I’ve tried and I can’t get them to “walk the walk”, so I am turning to the public for the support I need to get the job done.

America was founded on the principals of “no taxation without representation” and “liberty and justice for all” . It’s time we fulfill the promise of democracy for all Americans — and with your help, we know we can make that happen. That’s why I started the Statehood – No Other Way Foundation, to reach out to America to stand up for the principals on which our great nation was founded.

Michael D. Brown
United States Senator
District of Columbia