DC Statehood

On Friday the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 232-180, approved legislation granting statehood to Washington, D.C. The District’s 700,000 citizens, who pay federal income taxes, do not have voting representation in the U.S. Congress. This bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the chief executive, would rectify that. In our current polarized political climate, those next two steps are unlikely to occur, but an election is looming.

The 51st state would still be known as Washington DC, but DC would stand for “Douglass Commonwealth,” in honor of long time resident Frederick Douglass, crusading abolitionist, orator, and publisher, who himself escaped from bondage. “District of Columbia” would refer to the area of monuments and federal buildings.

Washington DC has more residents than Wyoming and Vermont, and about the same population as North Dakota; each of those has a vote in the U.S. House and two in the Senate, and DC would get the same. The populations of Wyoming and North Dakota are about 90% White and Vermont is even whiter; DC is 46% African American. Perhaps that explains the Senate and White House reluctance to grant DC statehood. Every other excuse is just noise.

More:

“D.C. statehood approved by U.S. House for first time in history,” Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post

“In Historic Vote, House Approves Statehood for the District of Columbia,” Emily Cochrane, New York Times.

“In Historic First, The House Of Representatives Passes D.C. Statehood Bill,” Nathan Diller, DCist

“DC is closer to becoming a state now than it has ever been,” Ian Millhiser, Vox

“Six Colossally Stupid Arguments Against DC Statehood,” Jane Recker, Washingtonian

“Trump Is Exploiting D.C.’s Lack of Statehood,” Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic

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Image ( DC neighborhood 4th of July Parade) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tags: 51st state, Congress, DC, DC Statehood, Douglass Commonwealth, H.R.51, House of Representatives, taxation without representation, Washington D.C. Admission Act