WASHINGTON-Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a markup of H.R. 51, an unconstitutional bill to grant D.C. statehood aimed at consolidating Democrats’ power in Washington. Republicans offered a dozen amendments to address major flaws within the bill, but Democrats rejected every amendment. After passage of H.R. 51, Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) released the following statement:
“America’s federal government should be ‘of the people, by the people, for the people,’ but with H.R. 51 America’s government will become ‘of the Democrats, by the Democrats, for the Democrats.’ This bill is not about voting representation-it is about consolidating liberal power through an unconstitutional bill that will allow Democrats to pass radical policies, which the Squad has championed, through both chambers of Congress.
“Democrats are ignoring our Constitution, the Founding Fathers’ intent, and the majority of Americans who oppose D.C. statehood in order to add two progressive senators to the U.S. Senate. During the markup, Democrats chose to talk about water bottles in Georgia rather than discuss the real issue with H.R. 51 because they know their own arguments for it don’t hold any water. Republicans offered amendment after amendment to make H.R. 51 more practical and constitutional, but unsurprisingly Democrats opposed all of them in order to push their power grab forward. H.R. 51 would not withstand judicial scrutiny and Congress must oppose this bill."
Republicans sought to improve H.R. 51 to address the bill’s unconstitutionality and the practical implications of granting statehood.
• Ranking Member Comer offered an amendment to remove the duplicative electoral votes that would remain for the District of Columbia if H.R. 51 was signed into law. The amendment requires the repeal of the 23rd Amendment before allowing the District of Columbia to receive three additional electoral votes.
• Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) offered an amendment to ensure Congress maintains its oversight responsibility over the District of Columbia to fulfill its Constitutional duty.
• Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) offered an amendment to require the new state to take control of its prisoners from the Bureau of Prisons within 180 days of admission into the Union and to reimburse the federal government for housing its inmates-privileges no other U.S. state is granted.
• Subcommittee on Government Operations Congressman Jody Hice (R-Ga.) offered an amendment that would actually achieve what Democrats claim their bill would do. His amendment allows D.C. residents voting rights by allowing them to vote in Maryland for Congressional elections.
• Rep. Hice offered an amendment requiring new elections for state officials in the District if statehood is granted. Given Democrats claim H.R. 51 is about voting rights, this would ensure D.C. residents can vote for an individual for the specific new roles created-the Governor, the legislature, etc.-rather than simply push the mayor into the governorship and the city council into the legislative function.
• Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) offered an amendment to end the federal funding of the District court system after 180 days to ensure the District, like all other states, must fund its own judicial branch. The amendment also requires the District to reimburse the federal government for that cost.
• Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Ranking Member Michael Cloud (R-Texas) offered an amendment to redraw the boundaries of the new State of Washington, Douglas Commonwealth to include all federal property contiguous to the proposed federal district. The new boundary would include the FBI Building and the Old Post Office.
• Rep. Fred Keller (R-Pa.) offered an amendment requiring a D.C. commission to conduct a study showing the expenses the new state would assume and become responsible for on the first day of its admission into the union.
• Rep. Keller offered an amendment to require the District to assume additional funding of District retirees’ pension liabilities no later than 180 days after admittance to the union. These pensions include those of teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and others that are currently funded by the federal government.
• Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) offered an amendment to add a congressional findings section to H.R. 51. The findings include recognition of: the unconstitutionality of enacting legislation that ignores the 23rd Amendment; every Department of Justice since Kennedy recognizing the unconstitutionality of granting statehood without repealing the 23rd Amendment; and the Founders’ intent to create a separate federal district, not a state, as the seat of the federal government.
• Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Ranking Member Pete Sessions (R-Texas) offered an amendment requiring the existing three electoral college votes the District of Columbia is responsible for be clearly allocated prior to the creation of the new state.
• Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) offered an amendment requiring 60 senate votes for the passage of H.R. 51, not simply a majority of 51 votes.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) called out Democrats’ attempt to distract from the major flaws of H.R. 51 by making false claims about the new Georgia voting law.
Rep. Foxx pushed back on Democrats’ desire for D.C. statehood without the fiscal responsibilities of it:
“It seems this bill’s sponsors want to give the District the privileges of statehood without the responsibility-a typical liberal principle."
Rep. Clyde voiced the real reasons Democrats are ignoring all Republican amendments:
“My Democrat colleagues’ objections serve to just further prove my point: Democrats are afraid of bipartisanship because they know their radical ideas will never pass the test of bipartisanship to the American people."
Ranking Member Comer closed the markup by reiterating what Republicans and Democrats acknowledged repeatedly throughout the markup:
“This bill is unconstitutional. If my Democrat colleagues want D.C. to become a state, the cleanest and fastest way for that to happen, is to repeal the 23rd Amendment before consideration of this bill. But that’s not good enough for the progressives. That’s not good enough for The Squad. That’s not good enough for the liberal left. This bill is part of their no-holds-barred plan to reshape the American landscape to one of higher taxes and daily government intrusion into the lives of Americans. This bill is unconstitutional. The Democrats have no solution for that. And they will be paying the price for that in the years to come."
