Del. Eleanor Holmes NortonEleanor Holmes NortonDem lawmakers unveil Journalist Protection Act amid Trump attacks on media Dems push to include contractor back pay in any shutdown deal Dem bill would let essential workers collect unemployment during shutdown MORE (D-D.C.) on Thursday introduced a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state.
Holmes Norton said the measure has 151 co-sponsors, a record high for the legislation, which she has introduced several times before, including the most recent Congress.
She said in a statement that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah CummingsElijah Eugene CummingsAttorney previously in contact with Cohen pushes back on pardon narrative to CNN Cummings refuses to join GOP’s criminal referral of Cohen over perjury concerns Cohen attorney seeks to clarify pardon testimony in letter to Cummings MORE (D-Md.) is committed to holding a hearing and markup for the bill this year, the first time since 1993.
“A hearing and markup will provide a prime opportunity to inform and remind Americans that over 700,000 of their fellow citizens who live in the nation’s capital are denied their basic democratic rights,” Norton said.
Statehood for D.C. would result in two more U.S. senators and likely one additional voting representative in the House. As a delegate, Norton is not permitted to vote on the final passage of legislation.
D.C. voters in 2016 supported a draft constitution that would turn the District into a state.
Federal premises such as the U.S. Capitol and national monuments would remain under federal jurisdiction if Norton’s bill is signed into law.
The measure has faced GOP opposition in the past, due in large part to the high percentage of registered Democrats in D.C.