As announced on January 25th in a press statement from the office of U.S. Senator Mark Warner, a bill was recently introduced to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. The bill is titled the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. A bill has also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents Washington, D.C. but is not permitted to vote on legislation.
The bill in the U.S. Senate was introduced by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Senator Tom Carper (D-DE). According to the press release, the bill “would grant D.C. citizens full congressional representation.“ The release continues that it would “also ensure that the citizens and elected leaders of the District of Columbia have full authority over local affairs, including over the selection of judges to fill vacancies on D.C. courts, including the D.C. Court of Appeals, which has had one seat remain vacant for over nine years.“ Furthermore, the bill “would designate the areas surrounding the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the National Mall as the seat of the federal government. That area would be the “Capital” and remain under the control of Congress, as mandated by the Constitution.”
Currently, over 700,000 people live in the District of Colombia but they have no representation in the U.S. Senate and they are without voting power in the U.S. House of Representatives. License plates in Washington, D.C. are notably stamped with the slogan “taxation without representation.” The bill has the strong support of local government officials, including Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
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