Democratic leaders predicted approval of state law in Washington, DC on Wednesday, calling on the senate to end the filibuster now to create the 51st state in the union.
“I hope the filibuster is thrown overboard,” said D-Md., Majority house leader, Steny Hoyer. “It is not a democratic principle that a minority … can hold back the majority.
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“With the movement of the filibuster, there will be movement for DC statehood,” added the district’s non-voting congressman, Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. “And I really believe the filibuster is on its way.”
Lawmakers, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, spoke at a Capitol press conference on Wednesday about the merits of assigning a state to the District of Columbia.
The House is scheduled to vote on DC statehood legislation Thursday, and Hoyer said he expected the bill to pass with all or nearly all of the House Democrats in support. President Biden supports the state of DC and would sign the legislation into law.
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The biggest challenge, however, will lie in the 50-50 split of the Senate. With the legislative filibuster still in effect, the state bill would require 60 votes to pass. Hoyer said on Wednesday that he hoped the Senate would change the “undemocratic” filibuster and allow state law to be passed in the upper house by a simple majority, like the House.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia delegate to the House of Representatives, speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on May 21, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
“Hopefully at some point people will say to the United States Senate themselves … it’s undemocratic [and] It’s un-American to let the minority hold the majority hostage, “Hoyer said of the filibuster.” Our strategy is to pass good bills … and hope that the Senate, by majority vote, will ratify the will of the people. “
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Officials and Democrats in DC have identified the state issue as a civil rights issue for residents who have become disenfranchised in the past. But the Republicans are firmly against the state of DC, calling it an unconstitutional Democratic coup d’etat intended to shift control in the Senate by adding two senators from a liberal stronghold.
DC has a population of over 700,000 – more than Wyoming and Vermont – but the residents have no voting members in House and no Senate representation. Nor does it control its own local affairs. However, according to the 2019 IRS Data Book, the District of Columbia pays more in federal taxes than 21 states and more per capita than any state.
Under the plan, the 51st state would be called “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth,” named after Frederick Douglass. The state would comprise 66 of the 68 square miles of the current federal district.
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The two square miles around the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the National Mall would be carved into a scaled-down federal district controlled by Congress called the “capital.”
DC would have full control over local affairs and full representation in Congress, which equates to two senators and one representative in the House based on the current population.