District of Columbia
Related: About this forumSenate Holds D.C. Statehood Hearing for Second Time Ever
For just the second time in the chambers history, the Senate is holding a hearing on legislation that would make D.C. the nations 51st state. The hearing comes as D.C. statehood has made tremendous gains, with the House passing legislation twice within the last year and the Biden administration fully backing the issue.
The Senate has not held a hearing on the issue in nearly seven years, and nowadays statehood legislation has more support among senators than ever before. The subject of the hearingS.51 or the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, introduced by Sen. Tom Carper of Delawarehas the support of 46 senators.
Still, there are four members of the Democratic caucus who have not stated their support: Angus King of Maine, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Two of those senatorsManchin and Sinemaalso do not seem to support abolishing the filibuster, a practice that allows the minority to thwart legislation, thus standing in the way of statehood legislation. The two made their opinions known in recent op-eds ahead of a big vote on voting rights legislation.
The senator really standing in the way of D.C. statehood is Manchin. Notably, Manchin tried to get provisions related to D.C. statehoodalong with public financing of electionsremoved as a condition of voting in favor of the For the People Act, according to Politico. And last month, Manchin told reporters in his home state that he does not support making D.C. the 51st state through legislation, preferring a constitutional amendment. If Congress wants to make D.C. a state, it should propose a constitutional amendment. It should propose a constitutional amendment and let the people of America vote, he said.
Read more: https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/520210/senate-holds-d-c-statehood-hearing-for-second-time-ever/
Murphyb849
(603 posts)sheshe2
(87,469 posts)Manchin is in a very red state and is elected as a Democrat. We need to hold that seat.
IronLionZion
(46,968 posts)it makes them feel important. Manchin's excuse is he's the only Dem who could win in WV. Sinema is just delusional.
RainCaster
(11,543 posts)He thinks he's the boss man as long as there are only 50 states.
AleksS
(1,699 posts)I dont know for sure, but I dont think so