Washington DC Statehood Bill Passes US House Subcommittee... GOP Calls It a "Bill to Add 2 Democratic Senate Seats"

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] A bill to elevate Washington DC, the capital of the United States, to statehood passed the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the 14th (local time). The bill limits the capital area to the region concentrated with major federal buildings such as the White House, the National Mall, the Capitol building, and the Supreme Court building, and proposes recognizing the remaining area as the 51st state.

According to Bloomberg News, the bill passed the so-called vote with 25 votes in favor and 19 against. Bloomberg explained that the votes were split along party lines in the Oversight and Reform Committee, with all Democratic members voting in favor and all Republican members voting against. This indicates that the interests of the Democratic and Republican parties are sharply divided on this bill.

Republican Representative James Comer, a member of the Oversight and Reform Committee, said, "Let's be clear about what this bill means," adding, "It simply means creating two new Democratic seats in the Senate."

[Image source= AP Yonhap News]

As Comer bluntly stated, Washington DC overwhelmingly supports the Democratic Party. However, because it is a special administrative district and not a state, it does not have any Senate seats, which are allocated two per state. Washington DC also has no voting representative in the House of Representatives.

At least the citizens of Washington DC participate in the U.S. presidential election. It was only in 1961 that a constitutional amendment granted Washington DC three electoral votes, and they have participated in presidential elections since 1964. Washington DC has never been won by the Republican Party in a presidential election. The Republican presidential candidate with the highest vote share in Washington DC was Richard Nixon in the 1972 election, who received 21.56%. Since then, no Republican candidate has surpassed 20%. Since 2008, no Republican candidate has even achieved double-digit vote shares. Democratic candidates have consistently received vote shares in the 90% range.

Therefore, the Republican Party views the elevation of Washington DC to statehood as simply adding two Senate seats for the Democrats. It is also expected that one House seat will be allocated if it becomes a state.

Washington DC currently has only one delegate sent from the House, but this delegate does not have voting rights. The Washington DC delegate has been Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, for 31 years since 1991. Norton has submitted bills to Congress every year since 1991 to elevate Washington DC to statehood, and other lawmakers have also introduced similar bills several times.

[Image source= Reuters Yonhap News]

The bill to elevate Washington DC to statehood passed the House for the first time last year. However, at that time, the Senate was controlled by the Republican majority, and the bill was never brought to a vote in the Senate and was shelved.

Although there is no representative who truly represents the citizens' opinions, Washington DC's population is larger than that of Wyoming or Vermont. Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (Democrat, New York), said, "The United States is the only democratic country that denies its capital city residents the right to vote on legislation," adding, "This is wrong and contradicts the fact that the U.S. Congress represents all American citizens."

Bloomberg reported that the bill could be sent to the House as early as next week for a vote. The Republican Party is proposing an alternative to return Washington DC to its original status as part of Maryland or other states. The area around the Potomac River in Washington DC originally belonged to Maryland and Virginia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.