This is a commemorative resolution that honors the anniversary of emancipation in Washington, D.C. On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed approximately 3,100 enslaved people in the nation's capital—making it the first place in the country where slavery was legally ended. The resolution recognizes this historic milestone and the cultural significance of D.C. Emancipation Day, which has been celebrated annually on April 16 since 2005.

The resolution also uses this historical moment to make a broader political statement about D.C. residents' current lack of voting representation in Congress. It points out that D.C. residents pay more federal taxes per capita than any state, serve in the military, and follow all the rules of citizenship, yet cannot vote for representatives in Congress and have limited control over their local government. The resolution calls on Congress to pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which would make D.C. a state and give its residents full voting rights and self-governance. This bill has been passed by the House twice before (in 2020 and 2021) and currently has 206 House cosponsors and 43 Senate cosponsors.

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

Recognizing the enduring cultural and historical significance of emancipation in the Nation's capital on the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, which established the "first freed" on April 16, 1862, and celebrating passage of the District of Columbia statehood bill in the House of Representatives.