WASHINGTON DC FIGHTS IN SENATE HEARING TO BECOME THE 51ST STATE OF THE UNION (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 04:01

Supporters of granting the District of Columbia statehood asked members of a Senate panel on Monday to make the American capital the 51st state in the union.

DC residents lack congressional representation, an injustice statehood supporters compared with denying women and African Americans the right to vote as they urged members on the Senate committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs to consider a proposed measure to make DC into the “state of New Columbia”. The few opponents who spoke during the hearing questioned the seriousness of the bill and the constitutionality of allowing DC to become a state.

Although the bill has almost no realistic chance of passing Congress, Senator Tom Carper, the committee’s chair and the bill’s sponsor, said he scheduled the hearing as a way to restart the conversation on DC statehood.

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/15/washington-dc-51st-state-senate-hearing-bill