Bernie Sanders, the independent Senator from Vermont and the Democratic Presidential Nominee hopeful recently provided the District of Columbia a huge boost in its effort to gain status as the nation’s 51s state by co-sponsoring the “New Columbia Admission Act”, a bill which would officially grant the territory statehood status.
“Washington D.C is currently home to more people than the state of Vermont, yet its’ residents lack voting representation in Congress. I think it is morally wrong for American Citizens who pay federal taxes, fight in our wars and live in our country to be denied the basic right to full congressional representation” Senator Sanders said in a statement regarding the proposal.
The bill which was re-introduced in the Senate on June 25th, 2015, had numerous co-sponsors including the senior senator from Delaware, Tom Carper (D- DE), who was the main co-sponsor. The bill which was introduced in congress back in September 2014, failed to gain enough support to make it out of a committee which would have then sent it to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote for approval.
Under the present system, District of Columbia residents only have one representative in congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes who does not have a vote when it comes to specific bills in the House of Representatives, only on committees that Ms. Norton is assigned to.
“Today as ranking member, {Senator} Carper once again demonstrated his commitment to equal rights for D.C residents by reintroducing his statehood bill. We are enormously grateful. I am particularly delighted that he took the time to attract a historic number of original cosponsors including Senate leaders” Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement regarding the statehood bill.
The District of Columbia officially became the nation’s capital on July 16th, 1790 after New York City and Philadelphia served as the country’s capitol before D.C was officially named the capital city.
“My goal for this hearing is to educate a new generation of people about this injustice and restart the conversation about finding a solution” Senator Carper said in a statement regarding the introduction of the 2014 bill which was similar to the 2015 bill.
If the congress would approve statehood for the District of Columbia, the state’s number of representatives in the Congress and in the Senate would be determined by its population. The last time a census took place was in 2014 and the population count stood at 658,893 citizens, placing it ahead of Wyoming (576,412) and Vermont (626,011).
“The District of Columbia is not just a collection of Government offices, monuments, and museums. It is home to more than 600,000 people who build lives, families, and careers here. These Americans serve in our military, die defending our country, serve on our juries and pay federal taxes. Yet, despite their civic contributions they are not afforded a vote in the congress” Senator Carper said in a statement regarding the current attempt at the DC statehood act.
The first time a vote for DC statehood came up in Congress was in 1993 when the bill failed 277 to 153.
“The question before us today is one of fundamental fairness. Should Americans, who live in this 70 square mile area, enjoy the same benefits of citizenship as all other Americans? The answer is a resounding yes” then, House Majority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO) said in support of the measure.
If the Democrats wish to get the bill passed in the congress, they would need to convince the Republicans to vote for the measure, which would be a difficult given the fact that only 1 Republican voted for the bill in 1993.
“The District, a liberal bastion of corruption and crime doesn’t even come close to making statehood requirements. We ought to take back control of the city and clean it up” former Representative Tom Delay (R- TX) said regarding the original statehood bill.
Ultimately, the issue of statehood for the District of Columbia is an important issue that must be resolved by the representatives in the Congress and the Senate who make the territory their home and share it with the thousands of people who do not have a voice in their own Federal Government even though they share the very territory in which the federal government resides.
catsissie says
D.C. is my hometown, and, even though I don’t live in the area now, it still makes my heart beat a little faster when I see photos of the place where I was born. So, after all this time, and all these arguments, over giving my hometown its own representation, I am going to be extremely gratified at the hope that this will finally become an excellent possibility. And I’m also pleased that Senator Bernie Sanders is so in favor of it, as well. It just goes to prove that he’s paying attention to citizens’ needs. I know my fellow citizens in the District certainly deserve representation in the Congress, something long overdue. Thank you!