Advocates for statehood for the District of Columbia are one step closer to becoming the 51st state in America.
What We Know:
- Lawmakers recently held a hearing of the H.R. 51 bill to make Washington D.C. a federal state. The bill would issue the District of Columbia’s mayor to proclaim “the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the commonwealth.”
- Currently, the district serves as the federal capital, not a state, meaning that D.C. holds no representatives in Congress or the Senate. Supporters of the movement claim that residents cannot exercise their civil rights despite paying federal taxes at levels higher than 22 states in the nation.
- Howard University’s Department of Political Science Chair, Dr. Ravi Perry Shuff, pointed out that race also plays a factor in blocking statehood for the city.
“We know that the historical composition of the people who live in this city are people who are brown, and Black have been deemed not to represent the values of the nation despite being promised equality,” Perry said.
- The H.R. 51 bill would require Congress to override the 23rd Amendment that states “the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress may direct.” If the bill were passed, statehood would grant three Electoral College votes to the Democratic-leaning federal capital making it an unfavorable deal for Republicans.
Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin reminded officials of the Justice Department’s ability to overturn amendments that no longer hold validity stating, “What made sense in 1800 is insensible and indefensible today.”
