WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) A US House committee approved legislation making Washington, DC the 51st state of the United States on a 25-19 vote, with supporters arguing that Congress has a moral obligation to give the city's 712,000 residents the same rights as other Americans.
"Washington, DC residents are taxed without voting representation in Congress and are denied equal political rights," non-voting Delegate Eleanor Norton said prior to the vote by the US House Oversight Committee. "With Democrats controlling the House Senate and White House, we have never been closer to statehood."
Republicans argued that the Constitution, which established the city as a US territory to be governed by Congress, needs to be amended for Washington, DC to become a state.
The legislation would give Washington, DC two Senators and a single representative in the House of Representatives.
The measure faces long-odds for approval in the Senate due to Republican opposition. Apart from constitutional arguments, Republicans say the overwhelmingly Democrat city would shift the political balance in Congress.
