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S. 1278: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

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S. 1278: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-05-25 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-05-25 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Washington, D.C. Admission Act

Plain summary

Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. The Commonwealth shall be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states. The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth shall consist of all Washington, DC territory as of enactment of this bill, with specified exclusions for federal buildings and monuments. The Commonwealth may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits. The bill applies current DC laws to the Commonwealth and continues pending judicial proceedings. The bill maintains: (1) DC as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. The bill provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution repealing the Twenty-Third Amendment to the Constitution (which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President).

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Washington, D.C. Admission Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE] · 30 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Joint resolution
In Texas, the type of measure the Legislature uses to propose a constitutional amendment (marked HJR or SJR). The governor does not sign or veto it; the voters decide. In Congress a joint resolution can also be used like a bill. In Florida, a joint resolution passed by three-fifths of the members of each chamber puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-s1278 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115