Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes NortonShakespeare Theatre Company goes virtual for 'Will on the Hill...or Won't They?' DeJoy defends Postal Service changes at combative House hearing DC delegate highlights effects of Postal Service quagmire on community MORE (D-D.C.) on Thursday introduced a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state.

Holmes Norton said the measure has 151 co-sponsors, a record high for the legislation, which she has introduced several times before, including the most recent Congress.

ADVERTISEMENT

She said in a statement that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene CummingsOvernight Health Care: US won't join global coronavirus vaccine initiative | Federal panel lays out initial priorities for COVID-19 vaccine distribution | NIH panel: 'Insufficient data' to show treatment touted by Trump works House Oversight Democrats to subpoena AbbVie in drug pricing probe Democratic chair subpoenas postmaster general for documents on reforms MORE (D-Md.) is committed to holding a hearing and markup for the bill this year, the first time since 1993.

“A hearing and markup will provide a prime opportunity to inform and remind Americans that over 700,000 of their fellow citizens who live in the nation’s capital are denied their basic democratic rights,” Norton said.

Statehood for D.C. would result in two more U.S. senators and likely one additional voting representative in the House. As a delegate, Norton is not permitted to vote on the final passage of legislation.

D.C. voters in 2016 supported a draft constitution that would turn the District into a state.

Federal premises such as the U.S. Capitol and national monuments would remain under federal jurisdiction if Norton's bill is signed into law.

The measure has faced GOP opposition in the past, due in large part to the high percentage of registered Democrats in D.C.