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House Passes D.C. Statehood Bill — But The Senate Might Be Harder To Convince

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The House of Representatives has passed a bill to make the District of Columbia the nation's 51st state. Even so, it faces stiff opposition in the Senate. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: On this vote, the yeas are 216. The nays are 208.

BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: With that, House Democrats passed a bill that would enfranchise over 712,000 Americans, a population larger than Wyoming and Vermont. The bill would reduce the size of the federal district and create a new state with the remaining territory with two senators and a representative. Advocates call the effort a racial justice issue as 46% of D.C.'s population is Black.

RAVI PERRY: The voices of the folks who live in the beacon of democracy that is the nation's capital don't have a voice.

SPRUNT: That's Ravi Perry, a board member at D.C. Vote. Ahead of the vote, Republican lawmakers linked statehood with a laundry list of progressive policies. Here's South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace.

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NANCY MACE: This is about government-run health care, a 93 trillion Green New Deal, packing the Supreme Court, higher taxes and a bigger, less efficient form of government.

SPRUNT: Kentucky Republican James Comer called the bill a naked power grab by Democrats.

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JAMES COMER: I wonder, listening to the debate, if our friends on the other side of the aisle would be so passionate if Washington, D.C., were 90% Republican as 90% Democrat.

SPRUNT: But Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin pushed back.

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JAMIE RASKIN: That cuts against everything that we believe in about American democracy. We do not deny people the right to vote based on our expectation of how they will vote.

SPRUNT: President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer support statehood, but it's unclear whether all Senate Democrats are on board. And that's not counting the at least 10 Republicans they need in order for the bill to advance. Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF TREMOR'S "CARACOL") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington desk, where she reports and produces breaking news and feature political content. She formerly produced the NPR Politics Podcast and got her start in radio at as an intern on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and Tell Me More with Michel Martin. She is an alumnus of the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania native.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.