51st state? There's another push for DC statehood on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (7News) — There's another push for D.C. statehood on Capitol Hill.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., held a press conference Tuesday at the Dirksen Senate Office building toannounce the Senate introduction of the D.C. statehood bill.

"We dare to believe that statehood to the residents of the nation's capital is finally on the horizon," Norton said, in part.

Carper called the issue a "historic injustice" for the District.

"There are nearly 700,000 Americans who call the District of Columbia home, and they do not have a voting representative in either chamber of the Congress," Carper said.

Watch the press conference in its entirety below:

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chair Mendelson also spoke during the event.

"This is personal, and it's personal because we are Americans, just like everybody else," Bowser said. "And we continue to be surprised that when we talk to our fellow Americans, that they don't have a clear idea of who we are. We pay taxes just like they do, that we pay our own way, that we pay more, in fact, per capita than any state in the union, that we bear all the responsibilities of statehood."

"It is time to recognize that the citizens of the District are citizens of the United States with all of the responsibilities of citizenship, but they do not have the full rights of citizens of the United States," said D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson.

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Last year, the U.S. House passed a bill that would recognize D.C. as a state, but it has yet to be taken up in the Senate. The bill's future is uncertain since Republicans now control the House.

Supporters of the bill sayD.C. residents pay the most federal taxes per capita, at $10,517.59 per adult resident, while producing the highest GDP of all the states.

"The single idea of taxation without representation, that gave rise to the American Revolution, still resonates today," Norton said.

Another one of the key issues supporters of D.C. statehood point to is the fact that the city needs federal approval before putting local laws into effect, including the budget.

Even though District residents elect two senators and one representative in Congress, they do not actually have a vote in either chamber because all three elected seats are non-voting positions.

This distinction comes despite the fact D.C. has a larger population than two states and has the highest population density of all states in the country.

Read more about the bill here.