The Lower House has not voted on this issue since 1993. And never has such a bill been passed by the House or Senate.
In a landmark vote, the United States House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill to make Washington DC the 51st state in the nation, but the bill is likely to die in the Senate.
A small chorus of cheers rang out when the move was taken by 232 to 180 accessions; All the votes in favor were Democrats and almost all the votes against, Republicans.
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“For more than two centuries, the residents of Washington DC have been denied their full right to fully participate in our democracy.” Despite paying taxes, serving in the military and running businesses, said Speaker of the House of Representatives and leader of Democrats in Congress, Nancy Pelosi.
More than 705,000 Americans live in Washington, DC, a Democratic stronghold with a population greater than two states, Wyoming and Vermont, and comparable to two others, North Dakota and Alaska.
Democratic lawmakers see the HR51 bill as a way to remedy the deprivation of voice and vote of its residents in Congress, perpetuated since Washington DC was created as the nation’s permanent capital in 1790.
But they also seek to solve a long-standing civil rights problem. 45% of Washington DC residents are black, a higher proportion than in any state in the country. But this is not reflected in the Senate, where each state has two seats.
The Lower House has not voted on this issue since 1993. And never has such a bill been passed by the House or Senate.
“Congress has two options: it can continue to exercise autocratic undemocratic authority” The “Fulfill the promise and ideals of this nation and pass HR51”, said Eleanor Holmes Norton, a non-voting delegate in the Lower House for Washington DC.
The Democratic proposal envisages a small federal district that would encompass government buildings, Congress, monuments, the National Park, and the White House.
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Republicans who oppose HR51 say it goes against the intent of constituents, who were seeking to create a federal district not influenced by any state.
“Washington DC was created as the seat of government, not as part of the federation of states,” Republican lawmaker Jody Hice said.
Officials in Washington DC have always resented the role of Congress in capital affairs, as the Constitution gives Congress the right to exercise control over the city. “in all cases”.
Unlikely
The states of Maryland and Virginia ceded land in the 1780s for the creation of a federal capital along the Potomac River.
But unlike other US citizens, Washington DC residents have never had voting representatives in Congress, prompting the slogan to be stamped “Tax without representation” on the plates of their vehicles.
In an example of unwanted intervention, President Donald Trump this month sent federal forces to disperse anti-racism protesters near the White House without coordinating with Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
If HR51 was passed, the new state would be called Washington Douglass Commonwealth, taking its name from the nation’s first president, George Washington, and prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
“DC should be a state. Pass it on”Democrat Joe Biden, likely Trump’s rival in the November presidential election, tweeted.
But Mo Brooks, a Republican in the House of Representatives, likened the intention of making Washington DC one more state to a seizure of power by Democrats, who are seeking others. “Two left-wing senators guaranteed.”
Republicans have outlined the idea of the call “Retrocession”, for which Washington DC would return their residential land to Maryland, allowing city residents to elect senators and have a voice in Congress.
Washington DC is unlikely to become a state for now. Trump is opposed, and Republicans who control the Senate have said they do not plan to put him to a vote.
The last time the United States added a state was in 1959, when Alaska was admitted as number 49 on January 3 and Hawaii became number 50 seven months later.
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