According to reports, House Democrats have approved a bill that would make Washington D.C. the 51st state of the United States.
Granting statehood to the District of Columbia would enfranchise 712,000 Americans. "This country was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed. But D.C. residents are taxed without representation and cannot consent to the laws under which they as American citizens must live," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
"I wonder, listening to the debate, if our friends on the other side of the aisle would be so passionate if Washington, D.C., were 90% Republican as [opposed to] 90% Democrat," said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. "H.R. 51 goes against the Founding Fathers' intent, and is unconstitutional, impractical and a blatant power grab."
"[Republicans] don't see taxation without representation. They don't see military service without representation, when tens of thousands of people from the nation's capital have served America in every war that we've ever had," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Source: npr.org
