For the first time in more than a quarter century, Congress has voted on a measure to make most of the area comprising the District of Columbia the 51st state.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved the bill, originally numbered HR 51, on a party-line 21-16 vote Tuesday after a contentious, hours long markup.

The bill would give the more than 700,000 residents of the District full congressional representation, with one House member and two senators. Washington is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, and if granted statehood would likely provide the Democratic Party with a boost in both chambers.

[Bowser and Norton hope 2019 is the year for D.C. statehood]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said in a statement Tuesday he would bring the bill to a floor vote “before the summer.” The legislation already has 223 co-sponsors — enough to pass the House — though likely fated for the dustbin of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Republican-controlled Senate.