For Immediate Release: April 23, 2021
Contact: Ryan Hite, Communications Director
Washington, D.C.: The House passed HR 51 this week, a party-line vote that would make the District of Columbia the 51st state in the union.
“Democrats have long wanted to pack the Senate by granting statehood to D.C.,” said Ed Martin, president of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles. “Adding D.C. as our 51st state is very problematic, to say the least, and not just because of the additional certainly Democrat votes it would bring to Congress.”
Our Founders’ design for a federal center of power are clearly set forth in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 explicitly provides for a national capital that is not part of any state or treated as one. The federal district was always intended to be neutral ground, a place where the states’ representatives could meet on equal footing. As such, every member of Congress has a vested interest in maintaining its operation. It’s no wonder polls consistently find 60+% opposition nationwide to D.C. statehood.
Martin concluded, “While they may not elect senators or a voting representative, don’t for a minute think that D.C. residents are without great influence or that (as they are fond of saying) they are victims of taxation without representation. There are 535 members of Congress who care about upkeep of the District of Columbia. Shrinking that district to a gerrymandered map of buildings and blocks, as HR 51 does, is simply unwise, unconstitutional, and unpopular with the American public.”
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