D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton will give testimony to members of Congress on Monday about her bill that calls for establishing the District as the 51st state.
Mrs. Holmes, a Democrat and the District’s non-voting representative in Congress, reintroduced H.R. 51 and she said the legislation has 215 co-sponsors as of Monday.
A new poll shows support for Mrs. Norton’s bill is growing nationally as 54% of likely voters say the District should become a state, according to Data for Progress and the Democracy for All 2021.
If passed, the District would be allowed one voting representative in the House and two senators. The city also would be renamed as the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, in honor of Frederick Douglass.
The congressional battle for D.C. statehood has been ongoing for decades. Last year, the bill passed out of the House for the first time ever, but the Republican-controlled Senate chose not to consider it.
Mrs. Holmes will begin testifying to the House Oversight and Reform Committee at 11 a.m., and she is expected to call witnesses including Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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