What DC would look like as a state, with the White House, Capitol, National Mall, and other federal areas cut out so they would remain a federal territory. Image by New Columbia Vision.

Should Washington, D.C. become the 51st state?

With 672,228 residents last year, it has a larger population than two actual states: Vermont and Wyoming. And its economy is larger than 16 other states’. Yet it does not have full representation in Congress, and no new states have been added since Hawaii in 1959. The New Columbia Admission Act, H.R. 317 and S. 1688, would formally change this by making the District of Columbia an official state named New Columbia.

Currently, not only does the District of Columbia have no voting members of the House or Senate, but its budget and laws are all subject to congressional approval, a lack of autonomy that no other state shares. Congress has tried to overturn D.C. laws on issues from education to contraception to legalized marijuana. For example, D.C. residents could be drafted into war but can’t vote for senators or representatives who would vote on whether to authorize a war.

The concept of statehood has perhaps never been more popular among either the Democratic Party or the city itself. Polling done for over two decades on the subject saw a new high in support last year, with 67 percent of residents and 71 percent of registered voters in the District supporting statehood. D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser last week called for a citywide vote on statehood, and on Thursday the decision to hold a citywide vote was unanimously approved.

What supporters say

Within the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama supports it. “I think I’ve long believed that D.C. pays — folks in D.C. pay taxes like everybody else. They contribute to the overall well-being of the country like everybody else. They should be represented [in Congress] like everybody else,” Obama said. “And it’s not as if Washington, D.C., is not big enough compared to other states. There has been a long movement to get D.C. statehood, and I’ve been for it for quite some time.”

The Democratic Party’s two remaining presidential contenders also support it: Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who’s a cosponsor of the Senate bill. (Bill Clinton supported the concept while president, but the issue didn’t move anywhere primarily because of the near 50–50 public opinion split on the issue at the time, even among District residents.)

But you may not have to change all your American flag designs just yet. The House bill sponsored by nonvoting Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has 131 cosponsors, while the Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) has 19 cosponsors — but not a single Republican in either Republican-controlled chamber.

What opponents say

The GOP almost entirely rejects the idea of statehood because, as presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich explained to the Washington Post editorial board, “What it really gets down to, if you want to be honest, is because they know that’s just more votes in the Democratic Party.” Indeed, the District voted at least 85 percent Democrat in each of the past five presidential elections, a higher rate than any other state.

Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is a pretty sure “no” vote, too. He voted to overturn some D.C.-enacted laws. (The last Republican President George W. Bush opposed statehood too.) Donald Trump, on the other hand, gave a noncommittal answer when asked on Meet the Press. Some people interpreted his response as leaning in favor, since hs said “I’d certainly look at it” and “So I would say whatever’s best for them, I’m for.”

Outlook

The Senate and House bills have been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, respectively.