This article was republished with permission from 草莓传媒’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from 草莓传媒鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for聽听迟辞诲补测.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia鈥檚 non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been the capital city鈥檚 advocate for more than 30 years.
Congressional representation for her constituents 鈥� who now number more than 700,000 鈥� has been a priority from the beginning.
When she engages in battle on behalf of her city these days, as she did last week when a statehood bill came to the floor of the House, she has the entire Democratic Party聽.
It wasn鈥檛 always the case.
For many years, suburban lawmakers of both parties opposed Statehood for the nation鈥檚 capital.
It created an uncomfortable tension. D.C.-area lawmakers were united on many issues, including those involving the federal workforce and the region鈥檚 Metro system. But when it came to the city鈥檚 rallying cry 鈥� 鈥渘o taxation without representation鈥� 鈥� Norton鈥檚 friends were often foes.
The reasons were many. Primarily, Maryland and Virginia lawmakers of both parties were concerned that if the District of Columbia became a state, it would impose a commuter tax on their constituents.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the man responsible for bringing聽, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, to the floor for a vote last week, was among those聽聽have changed.
鈥淭he commuter tax obviously played a role,鈥� Hoyer said in an interview. 鈥淎nd my view was: People have come to work for the federal government鈥� and to be confronted with a commuter tax seemed to me to be unfair.鈥�
鈥淚 came to conclude, some years ago, that the only way to achieve equality for the 712,000 citizens who live in the District of Columbia is to accord to them the benefits and the responsibilities of statehood,鈥� he added.
Former Northern Virginia congressman Tom Davis (R) said statehood鈥檚 profile is bigger than it used to be.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 turned into a civil rights issue,鈥� said the former lawmaker, a GOP moderate who worked closely with Norton during the city鈥檚 fiscal crisis in the 1990s. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a power issue. At this point they recognize this increases Democratic power in the Senate, so it鈥檚 an easy vote [for Democrats] in that sense.鈥�
With the United States Senate evenly divided between the two parties, some observers say Democrats鈥� embrace of statehood is less about fair treatment for D.C. residents than it is about math.
The city is so overwhelmingly Democratic that the D.C. Republican Party often fails to field candidates for some contests. President Trump got just 5.4% of the vote in 2020.
Many of the Republicans who spoke against statehood on the House floor accused Democrats of a power grab.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see [statehood] happening except for the most extraordinary political reason 鈥� that the Democrats desperately need two more Senate votes,鈥� said political analyst Tom Sherwood, a former NBC4 and聽Washington Post听谤别辫辞谤迟别谤.
In addition to the practical reasons for suburban lawmakers like Hoyer to work with Norton on statehood, Sherwood said the city鈥檚 economic turnaround has also helped. The District鈥檚 Wall Street rating was near junk bond status at one point; now the city is flush with cash.
It may also help that the city is more diverse racially, thanks in large part to an influx of young millennials.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a greater acceptance of what the District of Columbia is,鈥� said Sherwood, who appears weekly on WAMU鈥檚 鈥淧olitics Hour.鈥�
The statehood bill has 45 cosponsors in the Senate, but its fate there is bleak.
While the city has more residents than some states, polls show the public is mixed on the idea of making an area as small as the District of Columbia a state.
Davis, who worked with Norton, former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams (D) and the Clinton White House to resolve many of the city鈥檚 longstanding fiscal issues, said 鈥渘o one is asking the harder questions.鈥�
鈥淭he current statehood bill doesn鈥檛 affect the District having to give up money for Medicaid that they have under the current formulas. They would have to pay for the court system, etc. So I think it鈥檚 more at the symbolic stage than at the nuts-and-bolts stage,鈥� he said.
鈥淎t the nuts-and-bolts stage it gets a little bit harder.鈥�
