Indivisibles,
This afternoon, Senate Democrats introduced their version of the D.C.
statehood bill, S. 51! Making D.C. the 51st state is critical to reforming
our democracy so that it works for the people, not the powerful and
wealthy.
If granted statehood, D.C. would be the only state in the nation to have a
plurality of Black residents -- which means that hundreds of thousands of
Black Americans in the district would gain equal voting rights and equal
representation in Congress for the first time.
In addition to S. 51, the Senate also introduced S. 1, the For the People
Act, which would get money out of politics, expand voting rights, combat
corruption, secure our elections, and more. Both of these bills represent
critical structural democracy reforms that are necessary to ensure that a
corrupt, far-right extremist like Trump is never elected again, that our
democracy is more equitable and representative of the people, and that
we’re able to achieve the long-term, progressive goals that we’ve been
fighting for. But even in a Democratic trifecta, passing these two bills
into law isn’t a given.
[ [link removed] ]Call your senators now, and then click through to call your
representative.
We need you to call your senators and demand they support D.C. statehood
and the For the People Act, and urge them to move swiftly to hold hearings
and vote on these bills, without letting Mitch McConnell’s Jim Crow
filibuster get in the way. Then, call your representative and demand the
same. And if you need any further convincing, here are two major reasons
why we need to pass these crucial democracy reform bills:
→ The For the People Act offers another step towards reforming our
democracy. Donald Trump’s presidency, his attempts to steal the election,
and his violent rhetoric that incited a deadly coup attempt at the Capitol
made it clear that we must protect and preserve our democracy against the
continued attempts by extremists to erode it. This bill includes important
measures that will increase voter empowerment and access, reduce the
impact of money in politics, and institute ethics rules that help end
corruption.
→ D.C. statehood would add two new senators who would work to rebalance
the Senate from entrenched minority control. The current makeup of the
Senate is biased towards largely white, low-population states. This means
that BIPOC and people living in more populous states receive less
representation in the Senate. Making D.C. a state would begin to
counteract this bias.
There are so many more reasons why we’re pushing for S. 1 and S. 51, and
we’ll continue to talk about them across our platforms, but in the
meantime, we need to get a strong lead right out of the gate to show our
members of Congress that the people demand democracy reform. First, [ [link removed] ]use
our new peoples' whip count to see where your members of Congress land on
these key issues. Then make sure to [ [link removed] ]call your senators and demand they
support S. 1 and S. 51, and urge them to work swiftly to hold hearings on
both bills and send them to the floor for a vote -- without letting the
filibuster stand in the way of passage. Then follow up by [ [link removed] ]calling your
representative too.
We know there’s a long way to go to make substantial progress in reforming
our democracy (and a short window to do it), but with your help, these two
bills will lay the foundation for all our progressive goals in the coming
months.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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