Skip to content
CIVIC HERALD
HR 51 · 119th Congress · HouseIn committee

Washington, D.C. Admission Act

In plain language: This bill admits most of the District of Columbia as the 51st state, named the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, giving its residents full voting representation with two U.S. Senators and one Representative in the House. A small central area containing the White House, Capitol Building, Supreme Court, and other major federal offices would remain a separate federal territory under federal control. The federal government would temporarily continue to fund and operate local courts, public defenders, and prisons until the new state passes laws to fund and run them itself. The bill also establishes fast-track congressional procedures to vote on repealing the 23rd Amendment to adjust presidential voting rules for the remaining federal district.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, issue tags, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—The text alters governance for all residents of the newly created State and federal Capital enclave, but no population count is specified in the operative text.
Fiscal magnitude—no CBO estimate published
Reach90provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
Your matchSign in →See how this matches your values.

Issues

What this bill touches.

Election rules+70Federal vs. state/local−65

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Residents of the State of Washington, Douglass CommonwealthGrants residents of the new State equal footing with other states and representation in Congress through two U.S. Senators and one voting Representative (Sec. 101, 102).provisional
  • Residents living within the federal Capital enclaveGuarantees the right to register and vote by absentee ballot in federal elections in the state where they were last domiciled (Sec. 221).provisional
  • Retired District of Columbia public employees and judgesContinues federal responsibility to pay pensions and retirement benefits for retired D.C. police officers, firefighters, teachers, judges, and civil service personnel hired before October 1, 1987 (Sec. 301, 302, 303).provisional
  • College students in the new StateMaintains eligibility for federal higher education tuition assistance grants under the D.C. College Access Act until the State creates an equivalent program (Sec. 321).provisional

Who it burdens

  • State election officialsRequired to accept and process voter registrations and absentee ballots for federal elections from residents of the federal Capital enclave who were last domiciled in their state (Sec. 221).provisional
  • Federal police agencies (Capitol Police, Park Police, and Secret Service Uniformed Division)Bars these federal police forces from enforcing State laws inside the new State unless explicitly authorized by the State (Sec. 121(g)).provisional
  • Department of JusticeRequires the Department of Justice to assign assistant U.S. attorneys at federal expense to prosecute local crimes in the State until the State appoints its own prosecutors (Sec. 312).provisional
  • Government of the State of Washington, Douglass CommonwealthProhibits the State from imposing taxes on real or personal property owned or acquired by the federal government unless permitted by Congress, and requires disclaiming title to federal property (Sec. 123, 202).provisional

Who backs it

  • Federal GovernmentRequires federal funding of local State court operations, assistant U.S. attorney prosecution details, public defender services, court security, and prisoner housing until the State assumes financial responsibility (Sec. 311, 312, 313, 314, 316).provisional

Who opposes it

  • District of Columbia Congressional DelegateEliminates the statutory office and position of non-voting Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for the District of Columbia upon statehood (Sec. 222).provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Admits the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the United States on an equal footing with all existing states upon presidential proclamation.

    Sec. 101(a)-(b)provisional

  2. Directs the Mayor to hold primary and general elections to choose two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative to represent the new State in Congress.

    Sec. 102(a)-(c), Sec. 103, Sec. 403provisional

  3. Permanently increases the statutory size of the U.S. House of Representatives from 435 to 436 voting members to accommodate the new State until the next census reapportionment.

    Sec. 102(d)provisional

  4. Defines the territory of the new State as all District of Columbia land except for a smaller federal enclave known as the Capital—which includes the White House, Capitol Building, Supreme Court, and surrounding federal offices and monuments—and excludes the John A. Wilson Building so it can serve as the State Capitol.

    Sec. 111, Sec. 112provisional

  5. Guarantees residents living within the federal Capital enclave the right to register and vote by absentee ballot in federal elections in the state where they were last domiciled.

    Sec. 221provisional

  6. Establishes fast-track floor procedures for the House and Senate to consider a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to repeal the 23rd Amendment.

    Sec. 224provisional

  7. Requires the Department of Justice to detail assistant U.S. attorneys at federal expense to prosecute local crimes in the State until the State certifies it has appointed its own local prosecutors, and transfers local pardon and clemency authority to the State.

    Sec. 312provisional

  8. Requires the federal Bureau of Prisons to house State felons until the State certifies it has established its own correctional facilities.

    Sec. 314provisional

  9. Authorizes the State to appoint its own local judges while continuing federal funding for the local court system until the State enacts laws to fully fund its courts.

    Sec. 316provisional

How your members of Congress line up

Loading your members of Congress…

Timeline

How it moved.

  1. Jan 3, 2025Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, Armed Services, the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  2. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Jan 3, 2025Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1-2)
  4. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 9 days ago

Checking your session…