Puerto Rico? Aahhh….NO. Washington D.C.!
I appreciate the fact that the residents of Washington D.C. have no voting representation in Congress. That pretty much sucks. But I would prefer to abolish the District of Columbia and add Washington to Virginia or Maryland.
Given the complaints about small population states having over representation in Washington via 2 Senators and 1 Representative (i.e: Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota and Delaware)…and as a result, a large disproportion in the Electoral College…it seems reckless to grant statehood to a population area of almost exactly the number of residents per house member (DC 713,000 and House 711,000 per representative).
And then there’s all of the other issues around the trappings of statehood. Capitol building? Governor? Legislature? State Offices/Police? Courts? Constitution? Prisons? Schools?
I am not sure which would be the more bitter fight…deciding on whether Washington DC gets statehood or which state gets awarded DC and essentially another house seat.
Introduced in House (01/03/2019)
Washington, D.C. Admission Act
This bill provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia. The commonwealth shall be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states.
The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the commonwealth.
The bill applies current District laws to the commonwealth and continues pending judicial proceedings.
The commonwealth (1) shall consist of all District territory, with specified exclusions for federal buildings and monuments, including the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, and the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building; and (2) may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits.
The bill maintains (1) the District as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government’s authority over military lands and specified other property.
The bill provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution repealing the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President.
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