WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans clashed Monday over efforts to make Washington, DC, the 51st state, a proposal that has become popular among Democrats and the public.
Legislators in the House and Reform Committee debated the state campaign during a hearing in which legislation “the Washington Admissions Act,” introduced in the House in late January, by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat representing DC, was investigated. and in the Senate by Democrat Tom Carper of Delaware.
Democrats on Monday argued that Washingtonians should be treated as second-class citizens, who fulfill the responsibilities of citizens but do not receive representation in Congress again. Republicans, on the other hand, have expressed strong opposition to the attempt, claiming that the legislation violates the Constitution.
Norton noted, however, that the Constitution’s admission clause empowers Congress to allow new states, with 37 states allowed by an act of Congress. The longtime delegate who has been campaigning for DC State for years has explained that the case is personal.
‘My own family has been through nearly 200 years of change in the District of Columbia since my great-grandfather, Richard Holmes, walked away as a slave from a plantation in Virginia and moved to the district. “It is my great honor today to serve in a city where my father’s family has lived without equal representation for almost two centuries,” she said. “Congress can no longer allow DC residents to be sidelined in the democratic process.”
Norton said DC had so far never been “closer to state capture, with Democrats in charge of the House, Senate and White House.
Democrats have sharpened their quest for DC statehood since taking control of the Senate this year. The House is likely to pass the legislation again, as it did in the previous Congress, but it has little chance of removing the equally divided Senate, given the 60-vote hurdle to overcome a filibuster.
Many GOP legislators have voiced opposition to DC states, as any congressional representation would almost certainly be Democratic.
Steny Hoyer, leader of the House majority, D-Md., Told reporters before the hearing that the legislation would “give DC residents a voting representation in the House and two U.S. senators, that is, they are deemed equal to be to every other citizen. ”Hoyer said he plans to put the legislation on the floor in the near future.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, DN.Y., chair of the committee, called on her colleagues to support the measure, saying it would fulfill ‘the promise of democracy’ for more than 712,000 Americans living in the city.
‘DC residents are American citizens. They fight honorably to protect our country overseas. They pay taxes. In fact, DC pays more federal taxes than 22 states, and more per capita than any state in our country. “Residents of DC have all the responsibilities of citizenship, but they have no voting rights in Congress and only limited self-government,” she said. “The sad truth is that most of my Republican colleagues oppose DC coups, simply because they believe it will dilute their power.”
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., A member of the committee, spoke out against making DC a state, saying the bill was “unconstitutional”, arguing that the city is smaller than Columbus, Ohio, and that it 90 percent are Democrats.
“DC coups are an important part of the radical left’s agenda to reform America, along with the Green New Deal, to defend the police and tackle the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, RN.C., asked her questions to ask how many Democrats live in DC, and whether they would elect two Democrats to the Senate if the city became a state.
Foxx said the Democrats were “trying to use a razor-sharp majority to entrench themselves in power” and were trying to use DC as a “pawn” to gain power.
“The opinions presented here today by the witnesses brought by the Democrats show me that there is an attitude of little respect for the Constitution,” Foxx said.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Said Foxx “left the cat out of the bag” with her questions, which he called “deeply inappropriate” because he said Republicans raise the issue of bias and political affiliation.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, an outspoken advocate of state capture, and Phil Mendelson, chairman of the DC council, were among the witnesses who testified Monday. Both noted that the city has a larger population than Vermont and Wyoming, that they pay more than any state in capita, and that more than 22 states pay federal taxes. Bowser pointed out that Washington changed $ 755 million in one of Covid-19’s previous aid packages last year because it was not considered a state.
Responding to critics of state capture, Bowser said: “To argue that Washingtonians should remain dissatisfied with protecting the interests of the federal government is dangerous, outdated and downright insulting.”
Mendelson says opponents of state capture offer numerous arguments against making DC a state, but he said: “None of them overcome the basic principle that there can be no tax without representation.”