Sponsors (208)
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress January 3, 2025
The bill grants District residents full statehood and federal representation and includes multiple protections to preserve benefits and security during transition, but it shifts substantial fiscal obligations, creates administrative and legal complexity, and raises risks to law-enforcement coordination and long-term certainty.
Residents of the District become full-state citizens with voting representation in Congress (two Senators and at least one Representative), giving them equal federal representation.
Key benefits and services continue through the transition (retirement benefits under the D.C. Retirement Protection Act, continuation of federal employee benefits for certain court/parole/public defender staff, temporary FMAP parity for Medicaid, ongoing scholarship/tuition-assistance programs, and continuation of AUSAs/Marshals/pretrial services until State certification), protecting incomes, aid
Preserves federal control, security operations, and legal continuity over core federal properties and the reserved Capital area while limiting permanent federal control to parcels that remain federally owned, maintaining protection for national sites and avoiding abrupt governance gaps.
A nonseverability clause risks invalidating the entire Act (including many transitional provisions) if any part of the admission section is struck down, creating major legal uncertainty for the new State, federal agencies, and residents.
The State must assume many pre-admission D.C. obligations (pensions, court operations) and may inherit pension liabilities, and the FMAP parity is temporary — together these create substantial fiscal pressure on the new State and potential costs for taxpayers and could risk reductions in services later.
Limiting federal police from enforcing State law within the new State without authorization and shifting enforcement roles during transition could complicate law-enforcement cooperation and public-safety coordination, especially around federal/state boundaries and nationally significant sites.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Converts the District of Columbia into the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth with a reserved federal Capital area, grants immediate congressional representation, preserves federal pensions, and creates a transition commission.
Declares the District of Columbia to be admitted into the Union as a new State called the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, while reserving a small federal "Capital" area. It provides for immediate congressional representation (two Senators and one Representative), sets rules for initial elections and certification, and requires a land survey to define the reserved Capital area. Preserves federal retirement and pension obligations tied to the District and transfers pre‑admission District obligations to the new State; reserves limited federal legislative authority over specific defense and Coast Guard properties while allowing State concurrent jurisdiction consistent with federal law; updates certain federal residency and office-title references; and creates an 18‑member Statehood Transition Commission to manage the move to statehood and advise federal and local officials. The admission clause contains a nonseverability rule making the rest of the Act invalid if that admission provision is held invalid.