The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: mystery-ak on February 12, 2020, 04:24:55 pm
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House committee approves bill to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state
By Grace Segers
February 11, 2020 / 7:54 PM / CBS News
A key House committee approved a bill to make the nation's capital the 51st state, sending it to the House floor for full approval. This is the first time since 1993 that a bill to make Washington, D.C., a state has been considered and approved in a committee.
The House Oversight Committee passed the bill over the objections of the Republican minority, which introduced amendments to impose restrictions on abortion and gun control on the proposed state. The bill has 220 co-sponsors, giving it the momentum to pass the majority-Democratic House.
"For such a historic achievement for the District of Columbia, the only message I can convey is gratitude," said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting representative who represents the district.
more
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-committee-approves-bill-to-make-washington-d-c-the-51st-state/ (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-committee-approves-bill-to-make-washington-d-c-the-51st-state/)
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So if it were actually granted statehood what do you think it's nickname should be? I'm going with the Pork Barrel State.
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Two more guaranteed rat senate seats. Great idea.
Everything is about obtaining political power, 24/7. They never do anything for any other reason.
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Nancy needs to read the Constitution she likes to throw in our faces ....
The Congress shall have Power To… exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such DisÂtrict (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of ConÂgress, become the Seat of the GovÂernment of the United States… (The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 17)
In The Federalist No. 43, James Madison explained the need for a "federal district," subÂject to Congress's exclusive jurisdiction and sepÂarate from the territory, and authority, of any single state: [...]
Because of the District's unique character as the federal city, neither the Framers nor ConÂgress accorded the inhabitants the right to elect Members of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
[...]
Statehood is now the clear preference of DisÂtrict of Columbia voting-rights advocates, but the proposal has never excited much support in Congress and would, in any case, also require a constitutional amendment since an independÂent territory, subject to the ultimate authority of Congress, was a critical part of the Framers' original design for an indestructible federal union of indestructible states
https://www.heritage.org/report/the-constitution-and-the-district-columbia (https://www.heritage.org/report/the-constitution-and-the-district-columbia)
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Once again the Liberals in the House show how little regard they have for the Constitution.
COMMENTARY BY
Michael Sabo
Michael Sabo is a research assistant for the B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics at The Heritage Foundation.
It’s that time of the year again: U.S. House Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is ramping up her efforts to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state in the Union.
Her bill, which would create the state of New Columbia from the existing District of Columbia, is the latest in a long line of legislative proposals with the ultimate goal to secure full voting representation for the District in Congress.
Appealing to patriotic sentiment, advocates of making D.C. into a state have clothed their campaign in the rhetoric of the American Revolution.
They cry “Taxation Without Representation,†a slogan plastered on D.C. license plates (the DMV “encourages†all D.C. residents “to support D.C.’s quest for full representation in the U.S. Congressâ€) and made into a hashtag campaign on Twitter.
Today, on the 225th anniversary of the founding of Washington, D.C., it is a good time to reflect on why making D.C. the 51st state is not only unconstitutional but overlooks the fact that D.C. residents are already well-represented.
Legislative proposals to make D.C. a state violate the Constitution in at least two ways.
Article I, Section 8 grants Congress the right to “exercise exclusive Legislation†over the “District†that is “the Seat of the Government of the United States.â€
Congress cannot simply change the “Seat of the Government†into a state or delegate its power over the District to the government of a new state.
It took a constitutional amendment to give D.C. residents the ability to vote for president because they are not a state and Congress could not make them a state.
Ratified in 1961, the 23rd Amendment recognizes Congress’s authority to oversee the manner in which the District appoints electors to the Electoral College.
Congress cannot single-handedly eliminate the power this amendment grants only to Congress.
Article I would need to be amended, and the 23rd Amendment would need to be repealed for legislative efforts to be constitutional.
In Adams v. Clinton (2000), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found that legislative efforts to allow for voting representation in Congress were unconstitutional.
The three judge panel made it clear that the Constitution would need to be amended in order for such changes to take place within the law.
Congress itself recognized this in 1977 with a constitutional amendment to grant D.C. representation—it failed to gain the approval of the states.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2015/07/13/225-years-ago-today-washington-d-c-was-founded-heres-why-it-will-never-become-the-51st-state/ (https://www.dailysignal.com/2015/07/13/225-years-ago-today-washington-d-c-was-founded-heres-why-it-will-never-become-the-51st-state/)
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Old crusty Elanor really ... REALLY ... wants to be a Senator.
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Will not happen in this century. And for those feeling a lack of representation, I suggest you MOVE!!!
Puerto Rico voted to become a state too, and that is not going to happen any time soon either. I have enough friends in the PR and they all want independence from the USA and become their own country. I support that mindset completely. The federal government through the last 50 years has done more damage to PR favoring foreign nations over our own territory, and it is wrong.
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No.
Since when does ANY city have the right to "statehood"?
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Screw you, Norton. You already have a million times more "representation" than I.
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So if it were actually granted statehood what do you think it's nickname should be? I'm going with the Pork Barrel State.
@GtHawk
"Rap Master DC"?
"Wad up"?
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No No No and Heck No....