Congressional Hearings for D.C. Statehood Begin
The D.C. statehood movement has gained momentum in the new Democrat-led Congress. (Wikimedia)
The House Oversight and Reform Committee commenced hearings on March 23 to discuss the possibility of statehood for Washington, D.C. Partisan rancor between Republicans and Democrats indicates the issue will promote significant contestation over the coming weeks.
The H.R. 51 legislation would give D.C. residents full representation in Congress. This would include two Senators and one House member, rather than one non-voting House delegate. The district's three electoral votes would not change.
Proponents of D.C. statehood have argued that residents are owed full voting rights due to the fact that they pay federal taxes, register for selective service, and fight in the military, despite not having representation in Congress. In addition, the federal government often supersedes local leadership.
The effort has gained broad support from Democrats, including President Joe Biden. It is expected to pass in the House, but it may struggle in the Senate, with only 42 of the 50 Democratic Senators co-sponsoring the bill.
“The disenfranchisement of Washingtonians is one of the remaining civil-rights and voting-rights issues of our time,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in her testimony. Many proponents of statehood view Washington D.C.’s current lack of representation as an issue of voter suppression, especially given the fact that the majority of the city’s residents are Black.
Republicans, on the other hand, have widely rejected the bill, calling it a partisan power-grab. Republicans also question the constitutionality of the legislation, saying it would require a constitutional amendment given D.C.’s special designation by the Constitution.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, commented, “D.C. statehood is a key part of the radical leftist agenda to reshape America, along with the Green New Deal, defunding the police, and packing the U.S. Supreme Court.”
On the question of constitutionality, Congressional Research Service legislative attorney Mainon A. Schwartz cited the lack of historical precedent for forming a state from land that was previously designated as a seat in the federal government. “Reasonable minds can differ,” she said of the legislation. “Any constitutional challenge to H.R. 51 cannot be predicted with any certainty.”
John Harrison, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, also saw concerns involving the Twenty-Third Amendment. If the amendment is not repealed or updated, it may give the remaining federal land, just two square miles pursuant to the current legislation, three electoral votes in addition to the three electoral votes of the newly formed state.
If the bill is passed, most of present-day Washington, D.C. would be named the State of Washington, Douglas Commonwealth, after Frederick Douglas. It would become the fifty-first state in the U.S., and designers have already created a flag to fit the 51 stars.