U.S. Democratic Sen. Tom Carper has proposed a new legislation to make Washington, D.C. the 51st American state, continuing a years-long effort to grant statehood to the country's capital, according to CBS and other news outlets Thursday.
Carper, of Delaware, was joined by a group of more than three dozen fellow Democrats who are now pushing harder for the historic city bordering Maryland and Virginia to become a state.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the long-time non-voting Congress official to the District of Columbia, or D.C., said she has more than 200 co-sponsors in the House in support of finally approving the district's statehood.
In a statement, the congresswoman said "there's never been a time when statehood for the District was more likely," adding they are ready to attain "voting representation" and "full local self-government" for the 712,000-plus residents of D.C.
Many of the District's residents have long argued for their statehood, as they pay taxes but don't have representation in the U.S. Senate.
Democrats have traditionally supported the effort, as DC residents tend to be liberal and vote with the Democratic Party.
Congress passed a D.C. statehood legislation in 2020 by a 232-180 vote. It has 38 co-sponsors in the Senate, including New York Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. President Joe Biden said he would back the D.C. statehood move during the presidential campaign.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has expressed support for the legislation, saying that granting DC statehood "cannot wait."
According to reports, the argument of D.C. statehood became more urgent following the riots at the U.S. Capitol early this month.
The bill, which was first introduced in 2013 but has been tabled until now, could pass in Congress but would still need the nod of the Senate. Some GOP legislators have made it clear they will not support the bill.
