Posted on 06/01/2019 1:05:14 PM PDT by LibWhacker
The D.C. statehood effort got new life Thursday, when longtime skeptic House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer threw his support behind the idea and fellow Democrats pledged hearings to advance the issue.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Committee, said he has scheduled a hearing for July 24, marking the first time in more than a quarter century that the topic has gotten that far.
“This is a monumental step forward for equality and self-government for D.C.,” said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s nonvoting representative in Congress.
Mrs. Norton, Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city officials celebrated the announcement in front of the D.C. War Memorial, which they said symbolizes the sacrifices residents have made while lacking equal rights.
“We have had enough of second-class citizenship,” Ms. Norton said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The District of Columbia cannot ever become a state without a constitutional amendment redefining its status.
Hell no! Give it back to the Freak State (Maryland).
Make DC part of the states that it was made from....in other words...more like a Park Boundary.
The commie/lib/socialists are TRASH.
Return the land on which DC sits to Maryland. The land contributed by Virginia was returned to Virginia before the Civil War.
Retain the non-residential land utilized by the Federal government for administrative buildings, monuments, Congress, Supreme Court, executive buildings. The White House and VP house will be the only residential buildings retained except those on military reservations. POTUS and VP can vote in their home states.
Under this plan, Maryland picks up all of the residents of DC. The two Senators from Maryland will represent the citizens of DC. The House of Representatives will be reapportioned to reflect the addition of the citizens of DC. Maryland may then pick up one or two House seats.
The current citizens of DC will now have the representation in Congress they crave just like the residents of Arlington Virginia (previously part of DC) have representation through the representatives of Virginia to which they belong.
No need for statehood for DC. It follows established precedent.
NO!
Any way they can cheat to get votes will be done.
We may as well start more advanced preps for CW-II, because it is coming.
not going anywhere. Take 3 Electoral votes and be happy
As opposed to the rest of the state. It would dominate the state of Maryland just like NYC dominates NYS and Chicago dominates Illinois.
“got a new life” .. what like a vampire?
Indeed. Wash DC is the federal government, not a state.
Dems are silly to argue the federal government should have the same standing of each state (Senate), and silly to insist residents of DC should be counted as a state resident when voting from a non-state residency.
must repeal that DC 3 Electoral vote, the 23rd Amendment
What happened to Puerto Rico? These Democrats are desperate for power & it shows.
They want Puerto Rico to be a state. They just know its not possible to happen with a GOP senate and Trump in the White House.
If the Democrats have both chambers and the White House again, they will definitely begin talking about making Puerto Rico a state. That’s going to be a future debate.
There must always be a non-state capital district.
-PJ
Several major problems with the idea of the District becoming a state.
• The reason why the District was established by the Founders was so that the Federal Government would not be at the mercy of a potentially hostile state government. Congress has given the District the power to conduct its own affairs, but can take that power back whenever it wants. Imagine how a sovereign state of “Columbia”, which voted over 90% for Clinton, would harass and punish, say the Trump administration. Or if the seat of government were still in NY, having the current administration having to deal with the NY Atty Gen.
• Then there’s the 23rd Amendment. This Amendment gives the District that is the seat of the Federal Government (odd that it doesn’t mention DC by name) up to three Electoral Votes. If Congress admits DC as a state, what happens to the 22nd Amendment? Congress doesn’t have the power to ignore the Constitution.
• And then there’s the fact that the District and its status was created by the Constitution itself, were it gives Congress the power to establish laws, rules, etc for the District.
• Giving most of the land back to Maryland (who likely doesn’t want it) bumps into the 23nd Amendment. Give 3 Electoral votes to the handful of residents who live in the rump DC? It would be like the ‘rotten’ boroughs’ in English history.
• Without amending the Constitution, DC isn’t going to become a state. If the residents crave representation in the House or Senate, they can move the few miles to MD or VA.
No to DC Statehood and no to Puerto Rican statehood for many of the same reasons.
If Puerto Rico became a state, it’s slogan would be “The Welfare State.”
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