On September 18, the U.S. House Oversight & Reform Committee held a hearing on HR 51, the bill to create a state that would include almost all of the District of Columbia. See this story.
As of September 18, the bill has 218 co-sponsors, not counting two co-sponsors who are Delegates from Overseas Territories, not voting members of the House. The number 218 is significant because it is a majority of the House, which has 435 voting members.
Why not just give all of DC north of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Avenues back to Maryland?
I doubt this would ever get past the Senate. Anyone know how much of a majority is required for passage? 2/3? 3/4?
It’s just an ordinary bill, so all it needs is more “yes” votes than “no” votes.
Maryland doesn’t want any more territory.
Take it back, or capital moves to Missouri.
@ Richard Winger: How about a trade-off? Maryland gets most of DC back, and gives up those western counties to West Virginia?
Walter, Man, you read my mind (or else some of my previous posts). Garrett County (pop 29,233) would most definitely approve, and most likely Alleghany (the Cumberland pinch, pop 71,615) too. Washington County (Hagerstown, pop 150,578) would be a bonus since we’d pick up a decent airport (friggin’ Yeager in Charleston continues to slide off the mountaintop). It’s a win-win for West Virginia which is countering its decreasing population with growth in the eastern panhandle, and Maryland which would add the DC population (633,427) for a net gain of 382,001. LET’S DO IT !!
WZ: as a West Virginian, I like that proposal very much.
Why not just put West Virginia where it belongs?
Few people know today that in 1861, after the Civil War began, there was a proposal to redraw the borders of D.C., Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. D.C. would have had Arlington County and Alexandria, Virginia, added to it. Delaware would have gotten the Eastern shore of Maryland and the eastern peninsula of Virginia, Maryland would have gotten the Tidewater section of Virginia, and the Piedmont section of Virginia, and Virginia would have retained all of present day West Virginia along with the remaining portions of the Shenandoah Valley along with the remaining portion of Southwestern Virginia, plus the addition of the Western panhandle of Maryland.
The article fails to mention giving it back to Maryland. Poor, biased reporting.
DC to the Bahamas NOW –
to be regularly wiped out by annual A to Z Hurricanes ???
and to be regularly invaded by the various illegal immigrants and BERMUDA TRIANGLE UFOS ???
Good idea, Dem Rep!
Jim, uh, you lost me at Maryland getting the Piedmont section of Virginia. Piedmont is in central VA. Sounds like that plan would have completely stripped Virginia of it’s Atlantic seaboard. No wonder it went nowhere.
WV – created by UNION Army FORCE 1861-1863
sham approval by fraud rump VA legislature in Union Army occupied N VA.
Lincoln-Grant SCOTUS HACKS approved the machination after the Civil War ended —
USA Const de facto overthrown.
Can we make DC an independent nation and build a wall around it?
@ JIm Linger IMO, a better idea would be to take Loudon, Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexendria counties from Virginia and add them to Maryland as well.
The bill is one more super-obvious RED Donkey COMMUNIST machination
– to get 2 more RED Donkey communist USA Senators and 1 more RED Donkey communist USA Rep.
DOA in current USA Senate.