Free Republic

A key House committee approved a bill to make the nation's capital the 51st state, sending it to the House floor for full approval. This is the first time since 1993 that a bill to make Washington, D.C., a state has been considered and approved in a committee. The House Oversight Committee passed the bill over the objections of the Republican minority, which introduced amendments to impose restrictions on abortion and gun control on the proposed state. The bill has 220 co-sponsors, giving it the momentum to pass the majority-Democratic House. "For such a historic achievement for the District of...

WASHINGTON — After over 200 years without voting rights, the efforts to allow Washington, DC, to become the 51st state are gaining traction. The House of Representatives has set the first-ever congressional hearing on statehood legislation, and now a majority of the Democrats running for president say they support making DC a state. The House will hold a hearing July 24 for the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which would put the nation’s capital on even ground with other states, giving it two voting senators and at least one representative. The bill would end “taxation without representation” in DC — a...