On Thursday, the U.S. House Oversight Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on H.R. 51, a bill to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state.
Because the District of Columbia is a federal territory and not a state, its residents are denied voting representation in Congress. They have no say on some critical issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, like relief funding and vaccination plans. Yet, these issues are just as important to D.C. residents as they are to people residing in the 50 states.
The district’s population is larger than those of two states (Wyoming and Vermont), so there is no reason not to make it a state.