Tag: statehood

By a vote of 216-208, the House of Representatives voted in favor of statehood for the District of Columbia. From the Washington Post:

For the second time in history, the House passed legislation Thursday to make the District of Columbia the nation’s 51st state, bolstering momentum for a once-illusory goal that has become a pivotal tenet of the Democratic Party’s voting rights platform.

Democrats approved Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Washington, D.C. Admission Act 216-208 in a party-line vote, describing it as a bid to restore equal citizenship to the residents of the nation’s capital and rectify a historic injustice.

But the political odds remain formidable, with the Senate filibuster requiring the support of 60 senators to advance legislation.

The District has no representation in the U.S. Senate, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is a non-voting member of the House. Republicans have long opposed statehood for D.C. because the District has a large Black community and votes overwhelmingly Democratic. In most probabilities that would produce two new Democratic Senators increasing the Dems hold on a Senate majority. Read the full article. Some say the District is ‘too small’ to warrant statehood. But there are approximately over 692,000+ citizens living in D.C. Wyoming has just over 578,000 residents and the population of Vermont is just over 623,000. So…?

NBC News reports House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday that would give Washington DC statehood. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District of Columbia, reintroduced the bill in the House and says she has 200+ co-sponsors in the chamber. The bill passed in the House last summer. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the legislation in the Senate. But don’t look for the bill to pass in the upper chamber where the Democrats have the barest of majorities. Currently, the Senate is divided 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes. But the Senate Dems would need to overcome a filibuster which requires 60 votes. Finding 10 Republicans to vote with them could be a steep climb. Republicans have long opposed statehood for D.C. (and Puerto Rico as well) because the new states would create two new Senate seats and at least one House seat. That congressional representation would most likely end up Democratic. So, the Senate Republicans will block the effort and deny the more than 700,000+ residents of the District full representation and local self-government. It’s worth noting that the District’s population is greater than that of Vermont or Wyoming. Puerto Rico has a population of over 3 million.

DC statehood re-introduced today after passing in the House over the summer.

Majority Leader Schumer has said that DC statehood is in his top priorities –> https://t.co/UKcPR0rNcj — Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) January 27, 2021

Wyoming has 578,000 people, is 92% white and has 2 senators

DC has 705,000 people, is 46% Black and has 0 senators Dems introduced bill today to make DC 51st state — Ari Berman (@AriBerman) January 27, 2021

For far too long, Virginia’s neighbors in D.C. have been denied their civil rights and subject to taxation without proper representation. Statehood is common sense—pleased to join @MarkWarner and @SenatorCarper to make it happen. https://t.co/dlL0w7vbm4

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 27, 2021

Actually, this isn't that complicated. Denying D.C. statehood is racist.

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) January 27, 2021