WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans clashed on Monday over the effort to make Washington, DC, the 51st state, a proposal that has been gaining popularity among Democrats and the public.
Legislators on the House Reform and Supervisory Committee debated the campaign by the state during a hearing that examined legislation dubbed the “Washington, DC Admission Act”, which was presented in late January to the House by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents DC, and in the Senate by Democrat Tom Carper of Delaware.
Democrats argued on Monday that Washingtonians are treated as second-class citizens, fulfilling the responsibilities of citizens, but not receiving representation in Congress in return. Republicans, on the other hand, expressed their firm opposition to the effort, claiming that the legislation violates the constitution.
Norton, however, noted that the Constitution’s admission clause gives Congress the authority to admit new states, with 37 states being admitted through a Congressional act. The longtime delegate who has been pushing for the creation of a state in DC for years explained that the issue is personal.
“My own family has gone through almost 200 years of change in the District of Columbia, since my great-grandfather, Richard Holmes, as a slave, left a plantation in Virginia and went to the district. Today it is a great honor 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 marginalized in the democratic process.”
Norton said that DC “has never been this close” to a state until now with Democrats in control of the House, Senate and White House.
Democrats have stepped up their pressure for a state in DC since taking control of the Senate this year. The House would likely pass the legislation again, which it did at the last Congress, but it has little chance of clearing the equally divided Senate, given the 60-vote barrier to overcome an obstruction.
Many Republican lawmakers expressed opposition to the creation of a state in DC, given that any representation in Congress would almost certainly be Democratic.
The majority leader in the House, Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Told reporters before the hearing that the legislation “would give DC residents electoral representation in the House and two United States senators, that is, they would be considered equal to everyone else. citizen. ”Hoyer said he plans to bring the legislation to the ground” in the near future “.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, DN.Y., chairman of the committee, asked her colleagues to support the measure and said it “would fulfill the promise of democracy” for more than 712,000 Americans living in the city.
“DC residents are American citizens. They fight with honor to protect our nation abroad. They pay taxes. In fact, DC pays more federal taxes than 22 states and more per capita than any state in our country. DC residents have all citizenship responsibilities, but they have no right to vote in congress and only limited self-government, ”she said. “The sad truth is that most of my Republican colleagues are opposed to the creation of a state in DC simply because they believe it would dilute their power.”
Deputy James Comer, R-Ky., A senior committee member, spoke out against making DC a state and said the project was “unconstitutional”, arguing that the city is smaller than Columbus, Ohio, and is 90 percent democrat.
“The creation of a state in DC is a fundamental part of the radical left’s agenda to reshape the United States, along with the Green New Deal, divesting the police and filling the United States Supreme Court,” he said.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, RN.C., spent her line of questioning asking how many Democrats live in DC and whether they would elect two Democrats to the Senate if the city became a state.
Foxx said Democrats are “trying to use a thin majority as a razor to entrench themselves in power” and are trying to use DC as a “pawn” to gain power.
“The opinions offered here today by the witnesses that the Democrats brought show me that there is an attitude of little respect for the Constitution,” said Foxx.
Deputy Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Said Foxx “left the cat out of the bag” with his questions, which he called “deeply inadequate”, because he said Republicans are asking the question about partisanship and political affiliation.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, an advocate for the state, and Phil Mendelson, president of the DC Council, were among the witnesses they testified on Monday. Both noted that the city is larger in population than Vermont and Wyoming, pays more capita than any state and pays more federal taxes than 22 states. Bowser pointed out that Washington did not change $ 755 million in one of Covid-19’s previous aid packages last year because it is not considered a state.
Responding to critics of the state, Bowser said: “To argue that Washingtonians should remain deprived of rights to protect the interests of the federal government is dangerous, outdated and totally insulting.”
Opponents of the state, said Mendelson, offer numerous arguments against making DC a state, but he said: “None of them goes beyond the basic principle that there should be no taxation without representation.”