District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2651 To provide for the retrocession of the District of Columbia to Maryland, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 19, 2021 Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for the retrocession of the District of Columbia to Maryland, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia- 4 Maryland Reunion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2651 IH (1) Residents of Washington, DC, pay Federal 1 income tax, but do not have voting members in the 2 United States Congress. 3 (2) Article I, section 2, clause 1 of the United 4 States Constitution states that the ‘‘House of Rep- 5 resentatives shall be composed of members chosen 6 every second year by the people of the several 7 states.’’. 8 (3) The Founding Fathers did not consider the 9 proposed district that would become Washington, 10 DC, a State under the Constitution, as evidenced 11 when Alexander Hamilton offered an amendment to 12 the Constitution during the New York ratification to 13 provide full congressional representation to Wash- 14 ington, DC, but the convention rejected the amend- 15 ment on July 22, 1788. Thomas Tredwell stated at 16 the same convention that the plan for Washington, 17 DC, ‘‘departs from every principle of freedom’’ be- 18 cause it did not give residents full representation in 19 Congress. 20 (4) Chief Justice Marshall held in Hepburn v. 21 Ellzey in 1805 that the term ‘‘states’’ in article I, 22 section 2, clause 1 of the Constitution does not in- 23 clude Washington, DC, for representation purposes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2651 IH (5) Seven Supreme Court Justices affirmed 1 Chief Justice Marshall’s Hepburn reasoning in Na- 2 tional Mut. Ins. Co. of Dist. of Col. v. Tidewater 3 Transfer Co. in 1949. 4 (6) A Democrat-controlled Congress in 1978 at- 5 tempted to amend the Constitution to provide Wash- 6 ington, DC, with full congressional representation. 7 The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 8 Representatives reported the resolution and stated 9 that granting congressional representation to the 10 District of Columbia as it is presently constituted 11 would require a constitutional amendment, because 12 ‘‘statutory action alone will not suffice’’. 13 (7) Proposals to grant Washington, DC, con- 14 gressional representation will inevitably be chal- 15 lenged in court, calling into question the validity of 16 any narrowly passed legislation that a Washington, 17 DC, member votes on and leaving Washington, DC, 18 residents in a continued state of flux over their sta- 19 tus. 20 (8) Amending the Constitution requires two- 21 thirds approval by each house of Congress and rati- 22 fication by three-fourths of the States. In 1978, 23 there was success in obtaining a favorable vote from 24 two-thirds of both the House and the Senate on a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2651 IH constitutional amendment to provide Washington, 1 DC, with full congressional representation, but the 2 requirement for ratification by three-fourths of the 3 States could not be obtained. 4 (9) An alternative to a potentially lengthy and 5 difficult constitutional amendment process is ceding 6 Washington, DC, back to Maryland, just as an area 7 of 31 square miles that was originally ceded by Vir- 8 ginia was returned to that State by Federal legisla- 9 tion in 1847, thereby ensuring that the portion of 10 Washington, DC, in Virginia would have Senate and 11 House representation. 12 (10) In 1847, there was a desire to allow the 13 District of Columbia land on the west side of the Po- 14 tomac River that was not being used by the Federal 15 Government to have its own proper representation in 16 Congress. 17 (11) Obtaining the desired representation for 18 this portion of Washington, DC, would have required 19 a constitutional amendment unless the land were 20 given back to Virginia. 21 (12) Instead of trying to pass a constitutional 22 amendment, Congress in 1847 legislatively ceded 23 back to Virginia from the District of Columbia the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2651 IH non-Federal land composed of 31 square miles on 1 the west side of the Potomac River. 2 (13) Accordingly, the District of Columbia 3 would clearly and constitutionally have 2 Senators 4 and a Representative with full voting rights by 5 ceding the District of Columbia to Maryland after 6 Maryland’s acceptance of such retrocession, while 7 maintaining the exclusive legislative authority and 8 control of Congress over the National Capital Serv- 9 ice Area in the District of Columbia. 10 SEC. 3. RETROCESSION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO 11 MARYLAND. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the issuance of a proclama- 13 tion by the President under section 8 and except as pro- 14 vided in subsection (b), the territory ceded to Congress 15 by the State of Maryland to serve as the District consti- 16 tuting the permanent seat of the Government of the 17 United States is ceded and relinquished to the State of 18 Maryland. 19 (b) CONTINUATION OF FEDERAL CONTROL OVER 20 NATIONAL CAPITAL SERVICE AREA.—Notwithstanding 21 subsection (a), the National Capital Service Area de- 22 scribed in section 5 shall not be ceded and relinquished 23 to the State of Maryland and shall continue to serve as 24 the permanent seat of the Government of the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2651 IH States, and Congress shall continue to exercise exclusive 1 legislative authority and control over such Area. 2 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT 3 OF COLUMBIA. 4 (a) CONTINUATION OF SUITS.—No writ, action, in- 5 dictment, cause, or proceeding pending in any court of the 6 District of Columbia on the effective date of this Act shall 7 abate as a result of the enactment of this Act, but shall 8 be transferred and shall proceed within such appropriate 9 court of the State of Maryland as established under the 10 laws or constitution of the State of Maryland. 11 (b) APPEALS.—An order or decision of any court of 12 the District of Columbia for which no appeal has been filed 13 as of the effective date of this Act shall be considered an 14 order or decision of a court of the State of Maryland for 15 purposes of appeal from and appellate review of such order 16 or decision in an appropriate court of the State of Mary- 17 land. 18 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CAPITAL SERVICE AREA. 19 (a) DESCRIPTION.—The National Capital Service 20 Area referred to in section 3(b) is comprised of the prin- 21 cipal Federal monuments, the White House, the United 22 States Capitol, the United States Supreme Court Build- 23 ing, and the Federal executive, legislative, and judicial of- 24 fice buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2651 IH States Capitol (but shall not include the District Build- 1 ing), and is more particularly described as the territory 2 located within the following boundaries: 3 Beginning at the point on the present Virginia- 4 District of Columbia boundary due west of the 5 northernmost point of Theodore Roosevelt Island 6 and running due east of the eastern shore of the Po- 7 tomac River; 8 thence generally south along the shore at the 9 mean high water mark to the northwest corner of 10 the Kennedy Center; 11 thence east along the north side of the Kennedy 12 Center to a point where it reaches the E Street Ex- 13 pressway; 14 thence east on the expressway to E Street 15 Northwest and thence east on E Street Northwest to 16 Nineteenth Street Northwest; 17 thence north on Nineteenth Street Northwest to 18 F Street Northwest; 19 thence east on F Street Northwest to Eight- 20 eenth Street Northwest; 21 thence south on Eighteenth Street Northwest to 22 Constitution Avenue Northwest; 23 thence east on Constitution Avenue to Seven- 24 teenth Street Northwest; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2651 IH thence north on Seventeenth Street Northwest 1 to H Street Northwest; 2 thence east on H Street Northwest to Madison 3 Place Northwest; 4 thence south on Madison Place Northwest to 5 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest; 6 thence east on Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest 7 to Fifteenth Street Northwest; 8 thence south on Fifteenth Street Northwest to 9 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest; 10 thence southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue 11 Northwest to Tenth Street Northwest; 12 thence north on Tenth Street Northwest to E 13 Street Northwest; 14 thence east on E Street Northwest to Ninth 15 Street Northwest; 16 thence south on Ninth Street Northwest to 17 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest; 18 thence southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue 19 Northwest to John Marshall Place Northwest; 20 thence north on John Marshall Place Northwest 21 to C Street Northwest; 22 thence east on C Street Northwest to Third 23 Street Northwest; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2651 IH thence north on Third Street Northwest to D 1 Street Northwest; 2 thence east on D Street Northwest to Second 3 Street Northwest; 4 thence south on Second Street Northwest to the 5 intersection of Constitution Avenue Northwest and 6 Louisiana Avenue Northwest; 7 thence northeast on Louisiana Avenue North- 8 west to North Capitol Street; 9 thence north on North Capitol Street to Massa- 10 chusetts Avenue Northwest; 11 thence southeast on Massachusetts Avenue 12 Northwest so as to encompass Union Square; 13 thence following Union Square to F Street 14 Northeast; 15 thence east on F Street Northeast to Second 16 Street Northeast; 17 thence south on Second Street Northeast to D 18 Street Northeast; 19 thence west on D Street Northeast to First 20 Street Northeast; 21 thence south on First Street Northeast to C 22 Street Northeast; 23 thence east on C Street Northeast to Third 24 Street Northeast; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2651 IH thence south on Third Street Northeast to 1 Maryland Avenue Northeast; 2 thence south and west on Maryland Avenue 3 Northeast to Constitution Avenue Northeast; 4 thence west on Constitution Avenue Northeast 5 to First Street Northeast; 6 thence south on First Street Northeast to 7 Maryland Avenue Northeast; 8 thence generally north and east on Maryland 9 Avenue to Second Street Northeast; 10 thence south on Second Street Northeast to 11 East Capitol Street; 12 thence east on East Capitol Street to Third 13 Street Northeast; 14 thence south on Third Street Northeast to 15 Independence Avenue Southeast; 16 thence west on Independence Avenue Southeast 17 to Second Street Southeast; 18 thence south on Second Street Southeast to C 19 Street Southeast; 20 thence west on C Street Southeast to New Jer- 21 sey Avenue Southeast; 22 thence south on New Jersey Avenue Southeast 23 to D Street Southeast; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2651 IH thence west on D Street Southeast to Wash- 1 ington Avenue Southwest; 2 thence north and west on Washington Avenue 3 Southwest to the intersection of Independence Ave- 4 nue Southwest and Second Street Southwest; 5 thence south on Second Street Southwest to 6 Virginia Avenue Southwest; 7 thence generally west on Virginia Avenue to 8 Third Street Southwest; 9 thence north on Third Street Southwest to C 10 Street Southwest; 11 thence west on C Street Southwest to Sixth 12 Street Southwest; 13 thence south on Sixth Street Southwest to E 14 Street Southwest; 15 thence west on E Street Southwest to Seventh 16 Street Southwest; 17 thence north on Seventh Street Southwest to 18 Maryland Avenue Southwest; 19 thence west on Maryland Avenue Southwest to 20 Ninth Street Southwest; 21 thence north on Ninth Street Southwest to 22 Independence Avenue Southwest; 23 thence west on Independence Avenue Southwest 24 to Twelfth Street Southwest; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2651 IH thence south on Twelfth Street Southwest to D 1 Street Southwest; 2 thence west on D Street Southwest to Four- 3 teenth Street Southwest; 4 thence south on Fourteenth Street Southwest to 5 the middle of the Washington Channel; 6 thence generally south and east along the 7 midchannel of the Washington Channel to a point 8 due west of the northern boundary line of Fort Les- 9 ley McNair; 10 thence due east to the side of the Washington 11 Channel; 12 thence following generally south and east along 13 the side of the Washington Channel at the mean 14 high water mark, to the point of confluence with the 15 Anacostia River, and along the northern shore at the 16 mean high water mark to the northernmost point of 17 the Eleventh Street Bridge; 18 thence generally south and west along such 19 shore at the mean high water mark to the point of 20 confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers; 21 thence generally south and east along the 22 northern side of the Eleventh Street Bridge to the 23 eastern shore of the Anacostia River; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2651.IH H2651 kjohnson on DSK79L0 [Text truncated for display. 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