Since Washington is overwhelmingly a Democratic city, statehood would almost certainly guarantee two more Democratic senators. What's at stake could be the balance of power in the US Senate. Advocates say the fight for statehood is about racial justice, given that the majority of DC's residents are people of color. It would also give DC's residents a voting representative in the House and two US senators. The bill would reduce the size of the federal district and admit the newly named Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st state.
LUCKY STRIKE DC PRICES FULL
"This hearing will inform the many Americans who still do not know that the 712,000 DC residents pay full federal taxes but have no voting representation in Congress, and that Congress has the final say on all local DC matters." statehood," Norton said in a statement when the bill was introduced. "With Democrats in control of the White House, the House and the Senate, we have never been closer to D.C. Last year, in a historic vote, a Democratic-led House passed the bill, but it never reached the GOP-controlled Senate. The push to make Washington a state comes 30 years after Norton first took up the issue in the House. Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Legislation for DC statehood was reintroduced in January in the House by Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democratic delegate representing the district. Washington DC has a large African American population, and its constituents tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. But Republicans argue the statehood question is a partisan effort by Democrats to gain more votes in the Senate to push through more progressive policies. The bill would need the votes of every Democrat and at least 10 Republicans to clear the 60-vote threshold to overcome a Republican filibuster.ĭemocrats say making DC the 51st state is important to ensure equal representation in Congress. Democrats only slightly control the chamber with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation now faces stiff opposition in the Senate, where Democrats hold 50 seats and Republicans hold 50 seats. The vote in the House was 216 to 208, split along party lines with Democrats supporting passage. But the legislation will face a huge obstacle in the Senate, where it must overcome a Republican filibuster. The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to pass a bill to make Washington DC the 51st state.
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