What do you think of D.C. statehood?
Because it may just be something which happens in the near future. Those who have been following closely know that this has been pushed for a while now, and the house just approved a bill to do so.
So many people are against this move, and I can't really blame them…..D.C. as a state has so many little costs and consequences.
Consequences like having electoral votes, and voting rights in The Senate and in Congress.
NATIONAL POLL: Do You Support The Democrat Effort To Make D.C. The 51st State?
Take a look:
CBS News reported:
The House voted Thursday on a bill that would admit Washington, D.C., as the 51st state, although the measure is likely to fail in the evenly divided Senate. The legislation passed along party lines with a vote of 216 to 208, with no Republicans voting in favor.
For the bill's advocates, D.C. statehood is a civil rights issue. The district has a population of more than 700,000 people, larger than the population of Wyoming or Vermont. But while those two states each have two senators and a representative in the House, D.C. has no voting representation in Congress. Eleanor Holmes Norton represents D.C. in Congress as a non-voting delegate.
Statehood advocates also point out that D.C. pays more in federal taxes than 21 states and more per capita than any state, according to 2019 IRS data. The district is also diverse, with a population that is 46% Black and majority nonwhite. If admitted, it would be the first state with a plurality Black population.
NPR had more on the story:
It passed the House on Thursday 216-208 along party lines.
Ahead of the vote, Republican lawmakers linked D.C. statehood with a laundry list of progressive policies.
"This is not about a balance of power, this is about more power," said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. "This is about government-run health care, a 93 trillion [dollar] Green New Deal, packing the Supreme Court, higher taxes and a bigger, less efficient form of government."
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., claimed Democrats' push for statehood is a transparent attempt to grow their power in Washington.
"I wonder, listening to the debate, if our friends on the other side of the aisle would be so passionate if Washington, D.C., were 90% Republican as [opposed to] 90% Democrat," he said. "H.R. 51 goes against the Founding Fathers' intent, and is unconstitutional, impractical and a blatant power grab."
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