United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 43 D · 1 I cosponsors

S 51 — Washington, D.C. Admission Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 44 sponsors

    1 primary, 43 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (43 D · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Washington, D.C. Admission ActThis bill provides for the establishment of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, and its admission into the United States.The state is composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding a specified area that encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court building, federal monuments, and federal office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The excluded territory shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of the government of the United States, as provided for in Article I of the Constitution. The state may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits.The bill provides for the DC Mayor to issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the state. The bill eliminates the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives.The bill applies current DC laws to the state. DC judicial proceedings and contractual obligations shall continue under the state’s authority. The bill also provides for specified federal obligations to transfer to the state upon its certification that it has funds and laws in place to assume the obligations. These include maintaining a retirement fund for judges and operating public defender services. The bill establishes a commission that is generally comprised of members who are appointed by DC and federal government officials to advise on an orderly transition to statehood.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 43 co-sponsors · 503 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (43)

Not signed on (503)

503 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 503 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 51 do?
Washington, D.C. Admission ActThis bill provides for the establishment of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, and its admission into the United States.The state is composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding a specified area that encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court building, federal monuments, and federal office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The excluded territory shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of the government of the United States, as provided for in Article I of the Constitution. The state may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits.The bill provides for the DC Mayor to issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the state. The bill eliminates the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives.The bill applies current DC laws to the state. DC judicial proceedings and contractual obligations shall continue under the state’s authority. The bill also provides for specified federal obligations to transfer to the state upon its certification that it has funds and laws in place to assume the obligations. These include maintaining a retirement fund for judges and operating public defender services. The bill establishes a commission that is generally comprised of members who are appointed by DC and federal government officials to advise on an orderly transition to statehood.
Who sponsors S 51?
S 51 is sponsored by Van Hollen, Chris (Democratic), Schumer, Charles E. (Democratic), Peters, Gary C. (Democratic), Alsobrooks, Angela D. (Democratic), Baldwin, Tammy (Democratic), Bennet, Michael F. (Democratic), Blumenthal, Richard (Democratic), Booker, Cory A. (Democratic), Cantwell, Maria (Democratic), Coons, Christopher A. (Democratic), Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic), Duckworth, Tammy (Democratic), Durbin, Richard J. (Democratic), Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (Democratic), Hassan, Margaret Wood (Democratic), Heinrich, Martin (Democratic), Hickenlooper, John W. (Democratic), Hirono, Mazie K. (Democratic), Kaine, Tim (Democratic), Kim, Andy (Democratic), Klobuchar, Amy (Democratic), Markey, Edward J. (Democratic), Merkley, Jeff (Democratic), Murphy, Christopher (Democratic), Murray, Patty (Democratic), Padilla, Alex (Democratic), Reed, Jack (Democratic), Rosen, Jacky (Democratic), Sanders, Bernard (Independent), Schatz, Brian (Democratic), Schiff, Adam B. (Democratic), Shaheen, Jeanne (Democratic), Smith, Tina (Democratic), Warner, Mark R. (Democratic), Warnock, Raphael G. (Democratic), Warren, Elizabeth (Democratic), Welch, Peter (Democratic), Whitehouse, Sheldon (Democratic), Wyden, Ron (Democratic), Slotkin, Elissa (Democratic), Luján, Ben Ray (Democratic), Gallego, Ruben (Democratic), Fetterman, John (Democratic), and Blunt Rochester, Lisa (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 51?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 51?
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