Jun 03, 2019

District of Columbia : US House Oversight Committee to Hear Bill Proposing DC Statehood


Since its referendum of November 8th 2016, in which a majority of 86% expressed itself in favor of statehood, the Federal District of Columbia has embarked on a path to become the US’s 51st state. After being introduced in the US House of Representatives in March 2017 and in the US Senate in May 2017, the bill proposing DC statehood received “non-binding support” by the House Democratic leadership, with a vote count of 234 to 193. Now, in July 2019, the proposal for Washington DC to become a federal state with voting representation in Congress and full control over local affairs is due to be discussed by the House Oversight Committee.

 

The article below was published by The Fresno Bee:

The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform is set to hold a hearing on a bill proposing Washington, D.C., be recognized as the nation's 51st state.

WTOP-FM reports District Mayor Muriel Bowser and Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Thursday announced the July 24 [2019] hearing. The last full House committee hearing on a District statehood bill was in 1993.

The bill seeks to have the city "admitted to the Union on equal footing with the other states."

It calls for district-wide elections of two senators and one House representative. It says all district territory would be included in the declaration, save for specific exclusions of federal buildings and monuments such as the White House.

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