Norton Announces D.C. Statehood Briefing Ironically Postponed Due to Bill Violating D.C. Home Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 20, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the briefing on District of Columbia statehood with a screening of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver D.C. statehood segment followed by a question and answer segment, originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 2015, must be postponed because a bill to impose private school vouchers on the District is scheduled to come to the House floor that day. Norton said it was ironic that the House Republican effort to impose a private school voucher program on the District without consulting with local officials or her has made it necessary to reschedule a briefing intended to educate congressional staff and the public about the congressional denial of equal rights to the District. Norton announced that the new scheduled date for the briefing is Tuesday, November 17, 2015, at 3:00 p.m.

The briefing will begin with a screening of the Last Week Tonight 17-minute segment where Oliver makes the case for statehood by making fun of Congress for denying D.C. residents equal rights. Following the screening, there will be a presentation and a question and answer session with constitutional expert Viet Dinh, the former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy under President George W. Bush, where he will lay out the constitutional basis for D.C. statehood.