The House voted along party lines 216 to 208 to admit Washington D.C. as the 51st state. The bill now heads to the Senate.
This is the second attempt to make it happen. Last year it passed the House, but stalled in the Senate.
Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest voted against H.R. 51 – Washington, D.C. Admission Act. “The attempt to add D.C. as the 51st state is simply a power grab to add Democratic seats to the House and Senate. I have joined an alternative bill that would grant Washington residents citizenship in Maryland. This solution is simple and maintains the balance of power between the parties. Unfortunately, Democrats have not shown an interest in this common-sense approach. Their goal is to expand Democrats’ majorities in Congress.”
Congressman Guest cosponsored H.R.472 – District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act, which would cede neighborhoods and residential areas to Maryland, establishing current residents of D.C. as citizens of Maryland with federal representation without the need to create a new state.
The effort to grant statehood to D.C. is being supported by the Biden Administration. A statement issued Tuesday stated the following:
For far too long, the more than 700,000 people of Washington, D.C. have been deprived of full representation in the U.S. Congress. This taxation without representation and denial of selfgovernance is an affront to the democratic values on which our Nation was founded. H.R. 51 rights this wrong by making Washington, D.C. a state and providing its residents with long overdue full representation in Congress, while maintaining a Federal District that will continue to serve as our Nation’s seat of government.
Establishing the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st state will make our Union stronger and more just. Washington, D.C. has a robust economy, a rich culture, and a diverse population of Americans from all walks of life who are entitled to full and equal participation in our democracy. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress as H.R. 51 proceeds through the legislative process to ensure that it comports with Congress’ constitutional responsibilities and its constitutional authority to admit new states to the Union by legislation. The Administration calls for the Congress to provide for a swift and orderly transition to statehood for the people of Washington, D.C.
