Achieving statehood is Senator Jain’s #1 long-term priority, and he has a plan to make it happen. Senator Jain is working to explain to DC residents and Americans nationwide the consequences of DC’s lack of statehood. It is not just about a lack of federal representation, but also about our local government’s inability to set rules for our own affairs and exercise full self-government. Senator Jain is making the case that statehood is the only solution to the regular attacks DC experiences from the federal government.

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Senator Jain is working across the aisle with Republicans to get them to see the injustice and racism of denying over 700,000 Americans—a majority of whom are people of color and a plurality of whom are Black—the right to vote, and he is trying to secure a bipartisan deal on DC statehood. He is also working in parallel with Democrats to find a simple majority pathway to pass DC statehood out of the Senate. If a bipartisan deal is not possible, Senator Jain will work hard to push DC statehood through the House and Senate on simple majority votes and have it signed into law by the President.

Senator Jain is working hard to protect DC Home Rule, prevent any local DC law from being overturned by Congress, and stop the federal government from taking actions dictating local policy to DC. He has lead DC advocates in successfully blocking every single effort by members of Congress to repeal or rewrite DC local laws. Of particular note, he helped successfully prevent any anti-DC “riders” from being inserted into the federal budget - including those that interfere with its criminal justice system and a woman’s right to choose. He is also working to repeal existing restrictions on DC Home Rule, such as the congressional budget prohibitions on using our local tax dollars to help low-income women afford abortions and to legalize marijuana.

Housing costs in DC are out of control. Multi-generation native Washingtonians, young people, and the working and middle class are being priced out of the city. Congress currently imposes a limit on how tall buildings in Washington DC can be, preventing new homes from being built. Senator Jain believes that these kinds of local issues should be left to the DC Council, which is actually equipped to balance the tradeoffs between preserving DC’s skyline and building more housing to reduce our high rent and home prices. The office is working with Congress and the DC government to replace the congressionally imposed Height Act with local height restrictions that will allow the city to construct more affordable housing and lower housing costs for you and your family.

Violent crime in DC has gone down over the past few years, but it is still much too high. The federal government is refusing to focus on the role it should be playing in reducing crime. It is the federal government’s responsibility to nominate and confirm DC’s judges who can send perpetrators to prison, and it is the federal U.S. Attorney’s office that prosecutes almost all violent crime. Senator Jain’s office has worked to end DC’s judicial vacancy crisis and get judges for our open seats quickly nominated and confirmed–already, nine district court and two appeals court judges have been confirmed. The office is also working to ensure DC's U.S. Attorney focuses its resources on fighting violent crime and not on prosecuting President Trump’s political enemies. These steps will reduce the crime that Washingtonians are subjected to and save lives.

The office strongly supports our federal workers and is fighting hard against efforts to demonize and attack them. Senator Jain is working to inform the public about the impacts the Administration’s actions are having on regular Washingtonians. The office is fighting to bring back federal jobs that should never have been cut and that benefit our whole nation. The office is also working on connecting affected federal workers with resources.

Senator Jain is working to ensure that Congress properly funds DC priorities in the bills it is moving and is fighting proposals that provide DC less funding than other states. He worked with the U.S. Senate to increase funding provided to the DC Tuition Assistance Grant program that provides tuition support to Washingtonians who study at out-of-state universities. He is also focused on securing federal funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Association (WMATA). This will address WMATA’s fiscal cliff and prevent a catastrophic cut in Metro service.