The Biden administration issued a statement Tuesday officially supporting the “Washington, D.C. Admission Act” to make the U.S. capital the 51st state.
“For far too long, the more than 700,000 people of Washington, D.C. have been deprived of full representation in the U.S. Congress,” the statement read.
“This taxation without representation and denial of self-governance is an affront to the democratic values on which our Nation was founded.”
House Resolution 51, sponsored by the D.C. delegate to Congress, Democratic Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, was approved by the House Oversight and Reform Committee last week by a vote of 25-19, according to The Hill.
The legislation, which would carve out parts of D.C. — largely federal buildings and national monuments — as the nation’s capital while turning the rest of the city into its own state, will now go to a vote on the House floor Thursday.
The 51st state would be called “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth,” in honor of former abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
“Washington, D.C. has a robust economy, a rich culture, and a diverse population of Americans from all walks of life who are entitled to full and equal participation in our democracy,” the Biden administration’s statement read.
Norton additionally issued a statement thanking the Biden administration for its Statement of Administration Policy in support of her bill.
“Thank you to the Biden administration for today’s statement supporting H.R. 51,” Norton said.
“The residents of our nation’s capital deserve voting representation in Congress and full local self-government, and with Thursday’s House vote and expected passage, along with Democratic control of the Senate and White House, we have never been closer to statehood.”
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona criticized the bill last week, calling it “laughable.”
“The Democrats are so greedy to permanently tilt the political balance of power in their favor that they have presented us with a laughable D.C. statehood proposal,” the House Freedom Caucus chairman said in a statement.
“For one thing, it is a terrible idea to create a tiny new ‘capital district’ no larger than a city park that would be completely surrounded by an entirely new state,” Biggs said.
“What if the government of ‘Washington, Douglass Commonwealth’ doesn’t want to ensure the security of the new capital district? Or to help supply its electricity or plumbing? How could a territory no larger than a few city blocks avoid being coerced into submission?”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and 22 other state attorneys general wrote a letter to President Joe Biden last week, vowing to oppose any unconstitutional attempt to permanently alter the balance of power in the federal government.
“This coalition has one simple goal — to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The Washington, D.C. Admission Act is unconstitutional, represents unsound policy, and, if allowed to take effect, would create a super-state with unrivaled power,” Carr said.
“If the Biden Administration and Congress attempt to enact this legislation and provide statehood to the District of Columbia, our coalition will stop it.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
