Copyright holder illustration
EPA
The US Congress passed a majority vote on the resolution proclaiming the country’s capital, the city of Washington, as the new, 51st state. Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump have said they will block the decision.
The initiative was supported by 232 members of the US Congress. 180 voted against, and not one of the Republicans in the House of Representatives supported the bill to change Washington’s status.
The vote, which took place on Friday in the House of Representatives, the authors of the new initiative themselves called symbolic.
“We know very well that we will have to face the resistance of the Republicans in the Senate and the resistance in the White House, but we must declare our position,” said Eleanor Holmes Norton, the representative of the metropolitan district in Congress, after the counting of votes.
For several decades, Washington and DC have sought to change their status.
It is enough to say that on the license plates of cars registered in the metropolitan area, the slogan flaunts: “We pay taxes, but we do not have our own representative office.” (Taxation without representation).
Copyright holder illustration
AFP
What do democrats seek?
There are 700,000 people living in the District of Columbia — more than the population of states such as Vermont and Wyoming. However, according to the Constitution, metropolitan voters do not have the right to retain their interests in Congress, and the only delegate from the district, Eleanor Norton, who has been sitting on Capitol Hill since 1991, does not have voting rights.
Moreover, any legislation approved by the District of Columbia authorities can only enter into force after it is approved by Congress.
“We pay taxes like any other state,” Washington City Councilman Robert White said to NPR. “We fight and die in wars, like the people of all other states. Nevertheless, our vote is not represented in Congress.”
The last time an initiative to change the status of the US capital was submitted to the House of Representatives in 1993, but then the Republicans managed to block it.
The initiator of the current bill was the representative of Washington, Eleanor Norton. 220 Democrats in the House of Representatives became co-authors.
The bill, dubbed HR51, provides for not only the recognition of the District of Columbia by the 51st US state, but also its renaming – “The Commonwealth of Washington, Douglas” – in honor of the first US president George Washington and the former slave who became a fighter for the freedom of blacks, Frederick Douglas.
Why don’t Republicans and Trump like this?
Republicans who control the US Senate do not hide the fact that they intend to block the new bill.
The leader of the Republican majority in the upper house, Mitch McConnell, said last year in a television interview that he considers the initiative to change Washington’s status as a socialist march in Congress.
“As long as I remain the leader of the majority in the Senate, nothing like this will happen,” he stressed.
President Donald Trump was more outspoken, reporting in May in an interview with the New York Postthat a change in the status of the US capital could jeopardize the Republican position on Capitol Hill.
“Why am I against?” He asked. “What, we will have two more Democratic senators and five new Democratic congressmen? No, thanks. That will never happen.”
Republicans have consistently opposed this initiative. The main reason is the appearance in the House of Representatives of another legislator-democrat with the right to vote. They should be Eleanor Norton.
In addition, the new state will receive the right to elect two senators to the Upper House.
Few doubt that Washington will choose the Democrats. The city, where according to the census 46% are African-Americans, has voted for Democratic Mayors for many years.
In the 2016 presidential election, 91% of residents of Valington voted for Hillary Clinton, and only 4% of voters voted for Donald Trump.
Now the US Senate is controlled by Republicans: 53 against 47 Democratic lawmakers. If this alignment changes, even if only so slightly, it will be much more difficult for Republicans to pursue their policies.
Why is the bill introduced right now?
The special status of the metropolitan area of Columbia during the coronavirus pandemic led to the fact that Washington did not receive full federal assistance. If each of the 50 US states the government allocated $ 1.2 billion to combat the epidemic, then only 500 million were transferred to the city authorities.
President Trump’s decisions also sparked discontent over protests that erupted in the United States after the death of African-American George Floyd during police custody.
Contrary to the protests of the Washington City Hall, units of the National Guard from 10 states, as well as special forces of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and additional army units, were transferred to the city.
“We don’t have our own senator, and our representative in Congress does not have the right to vote,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference after protests in the capital. “Now we are faced with a situation where the federal government has deprived us of already limited autonomy.” .
However, last Wednesday the White House released Official statement, saying that the president is ready to use the veto if the bill is still approved in the Senate and handed over for signing to the head of state.
–
