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The full House of Representatives is debating D.C. statehood right now -- with a vote scheduled around 11:15 am. You can watch here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?510997-1/house-session&live
"Congress has both the moral obligation and the constitutional authority to pass HR 51" says @EleanorNorton, who @CarolynBMaloney calls the "author of this bill, and of this moment in history."
Some context for this vote: the bill has made it to the House floor without any Republican support. None is expected today. As Rep James Comer (R-Ky) called the bill one that would create a govt "of the Democrats, by the Democrats, for the Democrats."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca): "We right a historic injustice by passing legislation to grant the District of Columbia statehood." She says there's nothing theoretical about statehood, bringing up fed troops in D.C. last summer, and lack of Natl Guard control in D.C. on Jan 6
Rep Andy Biggs (R-Az) is bringing up the 23rd Amendment, something many GOPers have used as an objection to statehood. @McCartneyWP explains the 23rd Amendment claims here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/gop-dc-statehood/2021/03/28/3d1b1b64-8e43-11eb-9423-04079921c915_story.html
Rep Gerry Connolly (D-Va): "Some say it's not about race and partisanship. You can be sure it's about race and partisanship." He notes that D.C. would be only plurality Black state, and says GOP opposes DC is v Dem
"How somebody votes should not be a test of if they should vote"
"How somebody votes should not be a test of if they should vote"
Rep Jamie Raskin (D-Md), who has been a key part of Dems' response to GOP arguments against statehood, is talking now. A constitutional scholar, he's refuting Republican claims about constitutionality and historical claims about how states enter the union. (All 37 thru Congress)
"D.C. has never been a state, it shouldn't be a state, it's not gonna be a state" - says Rep Chip Roy (R-Tx). This is the neatest summation I've seen of the GOP position
Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tx) is tying D.C.'s lack of statehood to broader attempts to limit voting rights across the country.
"The 23rd Amendment? Well I can cite for you the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment."
"The 23rd Amendment? Well I can cite for you the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment."
Rep Glenn Grothman (R-Wi) is saying that D.C. is a government city and shouldn't be a state bc it doesn't have agriculture and manufacturing, and because its many universities mean it's "recession-proof." Fwiw there is no requirement that states have agriculture, etc
Grothman has made this claim before, in the same hearing where Rep Jody Hice (R-Ga) objected to D.C.'s supposed lack of car dealerships: https://dcist.com/story/21/03/22/dc-statehood-hearing-congress-car-dealership/
Rep Pat Fallon (R-Tx) is now making the case for retrocession, which he says would address the issue of taxation without representation:
"The GOP is acting in good faith bc we know that seat would be a Democratic seat, but it's the right thing to do"
"The GOP is acting in good faith bc we know that seat would be a Democratic seat, but it's the right thing to do"
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) is addressing retrocession to Md.
"You would have a state surrounding the federal enclave. No difference, only it would be Maryland, not the Douglass Commonwealth ... The only difference is two senators."
"You would have a state surrounding the federal enclave. No difference, only it would be Maryland, not the Douglass Commonwealth ... The only difference is two senators."
I spoke with Majority Leader Hoyer about why today's vote is different than last June, and he explained his vote against statehood in 1993 / why his perspective on the issue has changed: https://wamu.org/story/21/04/22/statehood-house-representatives-dc-steny-hoyer/
Hoyer is saying that he hopes people vote on principle of voting rights rather than politics of Dems almost certainly getting two new senators.
GOP talks a lot about the motivations of the founders -- Hoyer says D.C.'s disenfranchisement would "outrage the founders"
GOP talks a lot about the motivations of the founders -- Hoyer says D.C.'s disenfranchisement would "outrage the founders"
"I wonder if Wyoming, which has 200,000 fewer residents than the District of Columbia, would like to be subsumed to a surrounding state" - Hoyer, returning to question of retrocession to Md.
Rep Comer (R-Ky) says "the hypocrisy runs deep" bc Hoyer "lectures us" about holding the same position on statehood that he held in 1993 instead of explaining his previous vote. @JamesComer I asked Hoyer about this here: https://wamu.org/story/21/04/22/statehood-house-representatives-dc-steny-hoyer/
Rep Clay Higgins (R-La) says that D.C. is "essentially torturing its inmates," citing @PeteJamison story about 23 hours of solitary confinement for people held in D.C. jail during pandemic: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/04/19/dc-jail-lockdown-covid/
"Is this what we can expect from a D.C. state?" Higgins asks
"Is this what we can expect from a D.C. state?" Higgins asks
Rep August Pfluger (R-Tx) says he objects to "supremacy" idea D.C. can both be a state & have benefits of being federal district (fed district would be separate under HR 51). He suggests moving agencies to Texas "where we actually produce food and fuel for the nation and beyond"
Rep Don Beyer (D-Va) says that GOP opposing statehood for political reasons is bad short-term thinking, noting that Texas voted Democrat for generations
Rep Dusty Johnson (R-SD) says that he opposes statehood but not suffrage, and supports retroceding the residential parts of D.C. to Md.
You read that right -- Rep Johnson is from South Dakota. More history on how the Dakota territory became two states: https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/content/news/Have-you-ever-wondered-Why-was-Dakota-Territory-split-into-two-states-437917693.html
You read that right -- Rep Johnson is from South Dakota. More history on how the Dakota territory became two states: https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/content/news/Have-you-ever-wondered-Why-was-Dakota-Territory-split-into-two-states-437917693.html
Rep Louis Golmert (R-Tx) says that if Dems really cared about taxation without representation, they would support his bill to eliminate federal income tax in D.C.
fwiw, local D.C. officials say they want to pay taxes, and they want representation in Congress
fwiw, local D.C. officials say they want to pay taxes, and they want representation in Congress
Rep Andy Harris (R-Md) is the only GOP member in the Md delegation.
Harris says that if we put boundaries by federal buildings "we'll be subject to a mob," citing protests outside WH over the summer. "Thank god" we could have federal troops come in, he says.
Harris says that if we put boundaries by federal buildings "we'll be subject to a mob," citing protests outside WH over the summer. "Thank god" we could have federal troops come in, he says.
Rep Mondaire Jones (D-NY) says that GOP opposition to statehood is based in racism. Now Republicans in the chamber appear to be yelling? Something about timing. Now Jones is talking again, saying GOP is motivated by "fear that if they don't rig our democracy, they won't win."
Raskin is back, and points out that D.C.'s local police dept protected the Capitol from violent insurrectionists on Jan 6, and it's time to listen to their calls for statehood.
Both Dems and GOP say they don't have any more speakers -- it's time for Maloney and Comer to make their final arguments.
Comer starts by asking if Dems would be fighting for statehood if D.C. was 90% GOP. My q for him -- would GOP be fighting against it if that were the case?
Comer starts by asking if Dems would be fighting for statehood if D.C. was 90% GOP. My q for him -- would GOP be fighting against it if that were the case?
Maloney says today's debate "forces us to face the fundamental question of who we are as a nation ... D.C. residents are American and they deserve the equal rights our national ideals promise them.
An attempt from Rep Morgan Griffith (R-Va) to send HR 51 back to committee failed on voice vote, but now is getting voted on electronically. About 12 mins left for reps to vote on this motion
Earlier, Rep Mondaire Jones (D-NY) brought up Sen Cotton's comments about statehood from last summer: "One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn't be a quote, well-rounded working class state. I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word white."
