Everything you need to know about the push for D C statehood, hours before hearing begins msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Last week, Delaware Senator Tom Carper re-introduced a DC statehood bill to the Senate. The bill is highly unlikely to go anywhere without filibuster reform, as it would need 60 votes to pass and there’s currently no public Senate GOP support. However, it’s another big step towards potential representation for the District. Should the filibuster be eliminated, the measure would only need a simple majority (which the Democrats currently have) to pass.
The Congressional politics of DC statehood have changed a bit over the years. Not long ago, it was presented primarily as a civil rights issue the unfinished business of the civil rights movement, a majority-Black city denied equal rights. Though the District’s demographics have changed, that argument about basic fairness remains part of the mix. But recently, a more blunt partisan argument has come to the fore: Statehood for DC (and Puerto Rico, for that matter) are a way of getting more Democrats into a Sen