- Each year, tens of millions of tourists

flock here to Washington, D.C.

from every corner of the globe.

It's a one of a kind placedesigned specifically

and carefully laid outin the Constitution.

- The framers wanted to have the seat

of the new federal government

independent of any given state.

- [Jennifer] Roger Pilonwith the Cato Institute

has twice testified before Congress

about the implications ofgranting statehood to DC.

- They didn't want any given state

to be disproportionately influenced,

influential on the new government.

- [Jennifer] Neutral ground

to conduct the people's business

and for people living in the district,

Congress would serve astheir local government.

Today, the push from many ofthe 700 thousand residents

can be seen in the streets

through the revolutionary slogan,

"Taxation without representation."

Since they pay federal taxes,residents want the right

to elect their ownrepresentatives to Congress.

Making the district a statehas been debated for decades,

and last month, the Democraticcontrolled House approved it.

- The District of ColumbiaStatehood Bill HR51 is passed.

- [Jennifer] Every Republicanand one Democrat voted no.

The bill takes the 10 squaremiles of Washington, DC,

as specified in the Constitution

and reduces it to an enclavearound the National Mall

that would remain undercongressional control.

What's left would become the 51st state

called the WashingtonDouglas Commonwealth,

a nod to both George Washingtonand Frederick Douglas.

The measure is dead onarrival, at least for now,

given the Republican controlled Senate.

President Trump also opposes it.

Since the majority ofDC residents are black,

Speaker Pelosi anddemocratic leaders saw now

as an opportunistic timeto champion the issue.

- [Narrator] You might be wondering why DC

is not yet a state,

and it's actually a pretty easyone to answer, it is racism.

- [Jennifer] But opponentssay the push for statehood

is simply about political gain.

- This proposal is plainly

nothing but a democratic power grab.

- [Jennifer] If representationis what residents want,

they could push to return partsof the district to Maryland,

which seeded the land

to create the district in the first place.

But here's the rub, thatsolution wouldn't allow

for the addition of two new senators.

- Our cause for statehoodis certainly about

making sure we have two votingsenators to speak up for us

and making sure that ourCongresswoman has a vote.

- [Jennifer] And since DC votedfor the democratic nominee

by 80% or more in the lastfive presidential contest,

statehood would virtually guarantee

two new democratic senators.

- This is not about enfranchising people.

This is about expanding the Senate map

to accommodate the most radicalagenda that I've ever seen

since I've been up here,getting more radical by the day.

There's nothing these people won't do

to change the face of thecountry and we're tired of it.

We're going to fight back.

- [Jennifer] Under the houseplan, the federal government

would become dependent onthis 51st state for essentials

like utilities, snowremoval, and fire services.

Pilon says recent blacklives matter demonstrations

reveal how a DC statecould possibly wreak havoc.

- One can imagine scenarios

that would be quite uncomfortable.

For example, if you hadthe district of Columbia

with its own state government,entirely democratic,

and you had a President who was Republican

in the White House, you couldimagine the temptation to,

for example, withhold services.

- [Jennifer] If the Senate and White House

flipped to democratic control,

the measure will likely passas Joe Biden supports it.

Pilon argues it wouldthen wind up in court

because Congress simplydoesn't have the authority

to make DC a state through legislation.

- Every justice departmentthat has looked at this issue

from the time when Robert Kennedy

was an attorney general in 1963,

has said that Congress has no power

to do what is contemplated in this bill.

- [Jennifer] That means a newamendment to the Constitution,

which requires ratification bythree fourths of the states.

The latest attempt came in 1978when Democrats led Congress

and Jimmy Carter washere at the White House.

They passed a constitutional amendment

aimed at giving DC votingrepresentation in Congress.

But at the end of the seven year deadline,

only 16 States had ratified it.

Fast forward to 2020, andthe most recent polling,

shows 64% of Americans stilloppose adding DC as a state.

Jennifer Wishon CBN News, the White House.