Oversight Committee to Hold Hearing on H.R. 51, the Washington D.C. Admission Act

March 15, 2021

Washington D.C. (Mar. 15, 2021)—On Monday, March 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hybrid hearing on H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, introduced by Committee Member Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on January 4, 2021.

H.R. 51 would admit the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union and reduce the size of the federal district. The bill has 212 cosponsors and an identical version was passed by the House of Representatives in the 116th Congress.

Currently, 712,000 residents of the federal district, known as the District of Columbia, are denied political representation. Despite this, the District of Columbia pays more in federal taxes than 21 states and more per capita than any state.

The hearing will discuss the three prerequisites Congress has generally considered in admission decisions as well as Congress's constitutional authority to admit the District of Columbia as a state and reduce the size of the federal district.

WHAT:	Full Committee hearing entitled "H.R. 51: Making D.C. the 51st State"
WHEN:	Monday, March 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.
WHO:	The Honorable Muriel Bowser Mayor District of Columbia The Honorable Phil Mendelson Chairman Council of the District of Columbia Mr. Fitzroy Lee Interim Chief Financial Officer District of Columbia Mainon A. Schwartz Legislative Attorney Congressional Research Service Wade Henderson Interim President and Chief Executive Officer The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Harry Wingo D.C. Veteran
WATCH:	A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website.

MEDIA

Please note that strict adherence to the Attending Physician's Guidelines is required for all participants attending in person. Pursuant to these guidelines, "face coverings are REQUIRED" in the hearing room. In addition, the hearing room has been reconfigured "in accordance with social distancing guidelines."

Seating in the hearing room is extremely limited and as a result, credentialed media must RSVP to their respective Press Gallery no later than 5 p.m. ET March 19, 2021.

Issues: DC