The questions got heated on Monday at a House hearing on whether the District of Columbia should become the nation’s 51st state.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee have accused their Republican colleagues of diverting the conversation from the heart of the matter – that the 700,000 or so district residents are not entitled to vote in Congress – while Republicans have argued that the Democratic HR bill 51 is unconstitutional and flagrant seizure of power due to the district’s Democratic inclination.
“Today’s audience is about creating two new seats in the Democratic Senate,” panelist Rep. James ComerJames (Jamie) R. ComerHillicon Valley: Senate Republicans call for a hearing on the FTC decision at Google in the Obama era | American network at increasing risk of cyber attack, says GAO | YouTube launches rival TikTok in the US House. Republicans are examining federal electoral funds granted to a firm linked to Biden. Republicans call for investigation into the impact of school closures on children with disabilities MORE (R-Ky.), Said in the opening remarks. “The creation of a state in DC is actually Plan B for Democrats to take political power. Plan A was to eliminate the obstruction in the Senate ”.
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes NortonIran discussed attack on Army base in Washington, DC: report Why DC should become our 51st state. The DC delegate detonates the Capitol fence: ‘There is no reason’ to keep people away MORE (D) pointed out in his initial observations that the city “pays more federal taxes per capita than any state … and pays more federal taxes than 22 states”.
“Congress can no longer allow DC residents to be marginalized in the democratic process, watching as Congress votes on issues affecting the nation without a voice, or watching as Congress votes to overturn the duly elected DC Council laws without say on their own, ”argued Norton. “Full democracy requires much more.”
Norton, the original sponsor of HR 51 and a longtime advocate of creating a state in DC, is the only representation of the city in Congress, but cannot participate in the plenary vote.
The bill passed the House in the last session of Congress without Republican support. With 215 co-sponsors in this session, the lower house is expected to approve the measure again.
However, in the equally divided Senate, the bill is likely to languish unless the obstruction is lifted.
National support for the creation of a state in DC increased last year, with the country becoming more aware of the district’s inability to control its own National Guard last summer amid protests against George Floyd’s death by the police. The DC National Guard is under federal, not local, control.
In another prominent example, the district also slowed in response during the January 6 Capitol riots for the same reason.
In a new poll by the think tank Data for Progress, 54 percent of Americans said they approved the creation of a state in DC, a record.
President biden
Joe BidenAstraZeneca says the COVID-19 vaccine found 79 percent effective in testing in the U.S. without security concerns The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden: Back to the future of immigration, Afghanistan, Iran This week: Senate works to confirm that Biden choose before the interval MORE he signaled support for the bill, but even if legislation came to his table for him to sign, legal challenges would almost certainly follow.
How the account works
HR 51 would transform most of the District into a new state through a new process. The capital would not cease to exist, but would be reduced to include the National Mall, monuments, the White House and other federal buildings. The rest of the city would become the new state.
Residents of the new federal capital could vote in the state in which they lived.
Republicans quickly pointed out that the proposed bill would violate the 23rd Amendment, which gives DC electoral votes in the presidential election.
“Although HR 51 provides for rapid review of a constitutional amendment to repeal the 23rd amendment, this cannot be done by simple legislation and requires the votes of three quarters of the states to ratify the new constitutional amendment,” said Mainon Schwartz, legislative attorney for the Congressional Research Service, he told the panel.
The proposal of a state is unknown waters
In addition to the 23rd Amendment, HR 51 also causes the juxtaposition of several constitutional provisions, including the guidelines of the Constitution for the federal capital and the admission of new states.
Republicans at the hearing took the position that DC could not become a state through fair legislation, although the constitution’s admission clause grants the discretion to do so and is like all states after the original 13 colonies joined the parents.
Republican Party witness Zack Smith, who is a lawyer for the conservative Heritage Foundation, described DC’s situation as “unique”.
“The admission clause is constitutionally irrelevant, because none of the other 37 states owes its own existence to a separate constitutional provision; the district owes its existence to the district clause [of the Constitution]”Said Smith.
Another argument that received airtime from the GOP during the hearing was that DC would need Maryland’s consent to become a state, since the land on which the district is currently located was originally provided by the state.
The setback has happened before. In 1846, Virginia regained the current counties of Arlington and Alexandria. A complaint about the constitutionality of the change was brought to the Federal Supreme Court, but not before 1875, leading the country’s highest court not to rule on the issue.
Bowser gets angry when he hears
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
Muriel Bowser Why DC should become our 51st state The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Split screen: Biden sells stimulus; GOP highlights that border DC will open the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults on May 1 MORE (D) was part of the body of witnesses to give evidence on Monday and was widely questioned by the Republicans on the panel.
After being stung by the representative. Paul Gosar
Paul Anthony GosarGosar’s office denies that he appears on the popular QAnon talk show. Republican Party resisters confuse the message of Trump’s vaccine. (R-Ariz.) With basic questions about DC’s history, Bowser replied, “I’m happy to go over a history class with you at the appropriate time.”
The tension between the mayor and Republican Party lawmakers during the hearing was visible, with members often interrupting Bowser before she finished giving her questions a complete answer.
Things overflowed when Bowser was answering questions from the representative. Glenn Grothman
Glenn S. GrothmanPlaskett criticizes the Republican Party representative for saying that Black Lives Matter ‘does not like the old-fashioned family’. Chamber Supervision requests information from the Secret Service on threats of extremist violence after riots on Capitol Hill. to gain influence with lawmakers MORE (R-Wis.), Which hinted that DC’s economy was inferior, since it lacks a classic industry, such as manufacturing or agriculture.
While giving details about the DC industries, Bowser was interrupted by Grothman, provoking a furious interjection from Norton.
“Witnesses on the other side have repeatedly prevented eyewitnesses, especially the mayor of the District of Columbia, from fully answering questions,” Norton, clearly disturbed, told committee chairman Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Carolyn MaloneyOvernight Health Care: CDC says three feet away is safe in schools | Occurrence of COVID-19 cases in Europe and Brazil signal alert for the USA | Biden attacks Trump on his first visit to the CDC. Democrats unveil bill to prevent the Sackler family from avoiding bankruptcy lawsuits. The Supervisory Committee of the Chamber requires the release of the vehicle contract B USPS MAIS (DN.Y.).
Comer then stepped in, accusing Democrats of using the same tactic.
Puerto Rico created as a balancing act
Rep. Jody Hice
Jody Brownlow Hice14 Republicans vote against resolution condemning Myanmar Hillicon Valley military coup: Senate Republicans call for hearing on FTC’s Obama-era Google decision | American network at increasing risk of cyber attack, says GAO | YouTube launches rival TikTok in the US House. Republicans examine federal election funds granted to company linked to Biden MORE (R-Ga.) He argued that, historically, new states have been admitted to the union in pairs or groups in an attempt to prevent either party from gaining political advantage.
DC is a strong Democrat and Republicans have warned that if the city becomes a state, the two senators will be Democrats.
Rep. Jamie Raskin
Jamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinDemocrats promise to be ‘bold’ – with or without GOP Calls grow from legislators to IRS to extend filing deadline The world has abandoned COVID-19’s best antidote: Whistleblowers MORE (D-Md.) He replied to Hice, saying that if that were the case, then Puerto Rico, another candidate for a state that is more conservative than the District, should also be admitted as a state.
“This has been on the Republican platform for many decades,” said Raskin of Puerto Rico’s status.
“You want to negotiate … you want to bring two states together in the same way that Kansas and Nebraska emerged or Hawaii and Alaska, why aren’t you fighting for Puerto Rican admission?” Raskin questioned.
Puerto Rico’s logistics – a territory – becoming a state is different from the situation in DC, but the Caribbean island held a referendum on the possibility of becoming a state in November.
It was approved with more than 52 percent support.