District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8539 To reduce the size of the seat of the Government of the United States to the area comprised of the principal Federal monuments, the White House, the United States Capitol, the United States Supreme Court Building, and the Federal executive, legislative, and judicial office build- ings located adjacent to the Mall and the United States Capitol, to provide for the retrocession of the remaining area of the District of Columbia to the State of Maryland, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 6, 2020 Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To reduce the size of the seat of the Government of the United States to the area comprised of the principal Federal monuments, the White House, the United States Capitol, the United States Supreme Court Building, and the Federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the United States Capitol, to provide for the retrocession of the remaining area of the District of Columbia to the State of Maryland, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8539 IH 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 (1) Article I, section 2, clause 1 of the United 8 States Constitution states that the ‘‘House of Rep- 9 resentatives shall be composed of members chosen 10 every second year by the people of the several 11 states.’’. 12 (2) The Founding Fathers did not consider the 13 proposed district that would become Washington, 14 DC, a State under the Constitution, as evidenced 15 when Alexander Hamilton offered an amendment to 16 the Constitution during the New York ratification to 17 provide full congressional representation to Wash- 18 ington, DC, but the convention rejected the amend- 19 ment on July 22, 1788. 20 (3) 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 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8539 IH (4) 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 (5) 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 (6) Amending the Constitution requires two- 14 thirds approval by each house of Congress and rati- 15 fication by three-fourths of the States. In 1978, 16 there was success in obtaining a favorable vote from 17 two-thirds of both the House and the Senate on a 18 constitutional amendment to provide Washington, 19 DC, with full congressional representation, but the 20 requirement for ratification by three-fourths of the 21 States could not be obtained. 22 (7) An alternative to a potentially lengthy and 23 difficult constitutional amendment process is ceding 24 Washington, DC, back to Maryland, just as an area 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8539 IH of 31 square miles that was originally ceded by Vir- 1 ginia was returned to that State by Federal legisla- 2 tion in 1847, thereby ensuring that the portion of 3 Washington, DC, in Virginia would have Senate and 4 House representation. 5 (8) In 1847, there was a desire to allow the 6 District of Columbia land on the west side of the Po- 7 tomac River that was not being used by the Federal 8 Government to have its own proper representation in 9 Congress. 10 (9) Obtaining the desired representation for 11 this portion of Washington, DC, would have required 12 a constitutional amendment unless the land were 13 given back to Virginia. 14 (10) Instead of trying to pass a constitutional 15 amendment, Congress in 1847 legislatively ceded 16 back to Virginia from the District of Columbia the 17 non-Federal land composed of 31 square miles on 18 the west side of the Potomac River. 19 (11) Accordingly, the District of Columbia 20 would clearly and constitutionally have 2 Senators 21 and a Representative with full voting rights by 22 ceding the District of Columbia to Maryland after 23 Maryland’s acceptance of such retrocession, while 24 maintaining the exclusive legislative authority and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8539 IH control of Congress over the National Capital Serv- 1 ice Area in the District of Columbia. 2 SEC. 3. RETROCESSION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO 3 MARYLAND. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the issuance of a proclama- 5 tion by the President under section 8 and except as pro- 6 vided in subsection (b), the territory ceded to Congress 7 by the State of Maryland to serve as the District consti- 8 tuting the permanent seat of the Government of the 9 United States is ceded and relinquished to the State of 10 Maryland. 11 (b) CONTINUATION OF FEDERAL CONTROL OVER 12 NATIONAL CAPITAL SERVICE AREA.—Notwithstanding 13 subsection (a), the National Capital Service Area de- 14 scribed in section 5 shall not be ceded and relinquished 15 to the State of Maryland and shall continue to serve as 16 the permanent seat of the Government of the United 17 States, and Congress shall continue to exercise exclusive 18 legislative authority and control over such Area. 19 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT 20 OF COLUMBIA. 21 (a) CONTINUATION OF SUITS.—No writ, action, in- 22 dictment, cause, or proceeding pending in any court of the 23 District of Columbia on the effective date of this Act shall 24 abate as a result of the enactment of this Act, but shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8539 IH be transferred and shall proceed within such appropriate 1 court of the State of Maryland as established under the 2 laws or constitution of the State of Maryland. 3 (b) APPEALS.—An order or decision of any court of 4 the District of Columbia for which no appeal has been filed 5 as of the effective date of this Act shall be considered an 6 order or decision of a court of the State of Maryland for 7 purposes of appeal from and appellate review of such order 8 or decision in an appropriate court of the State of Mary- 9 land. 10 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CAPITAL SERVICE AREA DESCRIBED. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c), (d), 12 and (e), upon the retrocession under section 3(a), the Na- 13 tional Capital Service Area referred to in section 3(b) is 14 comprised of the principal Federal monuments, the White 15 House, the United States Capitol, the United States Su- 16 preme Court Building, and the Federal executive, legisla- 17 tive, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the 18 Mall and the United States Capitol (but shall not include 19 the District Building), and is more particularly described 20 as the territory located within the boundaries described 21 in subsection (b). 22 (b) GENERAL DESCRIPTION.—The boundaries of the 23 National Capital Service Area shall be as follows: Begin- 24 ning at the intersection of the southern right-of-way of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8539 IH F Street NE and the eastern right-of-way of 2nd Street 1 NE; 2 (1) thence south along said eastern right-of-way 3 of 2nd Street NE to its intersection with the north- 4 eastern right-of-way of Maryland Avenue NE; 5 (2) thence southwest along said northeastern 6 right-of-way of Maryland Avenue NE to its intersec- 7 tion with the northern right-of-way of Constitution 8 Avenue NE; 9 (3) thence west along said northern right-of- 10 way of Constitution Avenue NE to its intersection 11 with the eastern right-of-way of 1st Street NE; 12 (4) thence south along said eastern right-of-way 13 of 1st Street NE to its intersection with the south- 14 eastern right-of-way of Maryland Avenue NE; 15 (5) thence northeast along said southeastern 16 right-of-way of Maryland Avenue NE to its intersec- 17 tion with the eastern right-of-way of 2nd Street SE; 18 (6) thence south along said eastern right-of-way 19 of 2nd Street SE to the eastern right-of-way of 2nd 20 Street SE; 21 (7) thence south along said eastern right-of-way 22 of 2nd Street SE to its intersection with the north- 23 ern property boundary of the property designated as 24 Square 760 Lot 803; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8539 IH (8) thence east along said northern property 1 boundary of Square 760 Lot 803 to its intersection 2 with the western right-of-way of 3rd Street SE; 3 (9) thence south along said western right-of- 4 way of 3rd Street SE to its intersection with the 5 northern right-of-way of Independence Avenue SE; 6 (10) thence west along said northern right-of- 7 way of Independence Avenue SE to its intersection 8 with the northwestern right-of-way of Pennsylvania 9 Avenue SE; 10 (11) thence northwest along said northwestern 11 right-of-way of Pennsylvania Avenue SE to its inter- 12 section with the eastern right-of-way of 2nd Street 13 SE; 14 (12) thence south along said eastern right-of- 15 way of 2nd Street SE to its intersection with the 16 southern right-of-way of C Street SE; 17 (13) thence west along said southern right-of- 18 way of C Street SE to its intersection with the east- 19 ern right-of-way of 1st Street SE; 20 (14) thence south along said eastern right-of- 21 way of 1st Street SE to its intersection with the 22 southern right-of-way of D Street SE; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8539 IH (15) thence west along said southern right-of- 1 way of D Street SE to its intersection with the east- 2 ern right-of-way of South Capitol Street; 3 (16) thence south along said eastern right-of- 4 way of South Capitol Street to its intersection with 5 the northwestern right-of-way of Canal Street SE; 6 (17) thence southeast along said northwestern 7 right-of-way of Canal Street SE to its intersection 8 with the southern right-of-way of E Street SE; 9 (18) thence east along said southern right-of- 10 way of said E Street SE to its intersection with the 11 western right-of-way of 1st Street SE; 12 (19) thence south along said western right-of- 13 way of 1st Street SE to its intersection with the 14 southernmost corner of the property designated as 15 Square 736S Lot 801; 16 (20) thence west along a line extended due west 17 from said corner of said property designated as 18 Square 736S Lot 801 to its intersection with the 19 southwestern right-of-way of New Jersey Avenue 20 SE; 21 (21) thence southeast along said southwestern 22 right-of-way of New Jersey Avenue SE to its inter- 23 section with the northwestern right-of-way of Vir- 24 ginia Avenue SE; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8539 IH (22) thence northwest along said northwestern 1 right-of-way of Virginia Avenue SE to its intersec- 2 tion with the western right-of-way of South Capitol 3 Street; 4 (23) thence north along said western right-of- 5 way of South Capitol Street to its intersection with 6 the southern right-of-way of E Street SW; 7 (24) thence west along said southern right-of- 8 way of E Street SW to its end; 9 (25) thence west along a line extending said 10 southern right-of-way of E Street SW westward to 11 its intersection with the eastern right-of-way of 2nd 12 Street SW; 13 (26) thence north along said eastern right-of- 14 way of 2nd Street SW to its intersection with the 15 southwestern right-of-way of Virginia Avenue SW; 16 (27) thence northwest along said southwestern 17 right-of-way of Virginia Avenue SW to its intersec- 18 tion with the western right-of-way of 3rd Street SW; 19 (28) thence north along said western right-of- 20 way of 3rd Street SW to its intersection with the 21 northern right-of-way of D Street SW; 22 (29) thence west along said northern right-of- 23 way of D Street SW to its intersection with the east- 24 ern right-of-way of 4th Street SW; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8539.IH H8539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8539 IH (30) thence north along said eastern right-of- 1 way of 4th Street SW to its intersection with the 2 northern right-of-way of C Street SW; 3 (31) thence west along said northern right-of- 4 way of C Street SW to its intersection with the east- 5 ern right-of-way of 6th Street SW; 6 (32) thence north along said eastern right-of- 7 way of 6th Street SW to its intersection with the 8 northern right-of-way of Independence Avenue SW; 9 (33) thence west along said northern right-of- 10 way of Independence Avenue SW to its intersection 11 with the western right-of-way of 12th Street SW; 12 (34) thence south along said western right-of- 13 way of 12th Street SW to its intersection with the 14 northern right-of-way of D Street SW; 15 (35) thence west along said northern right-of- 16 way of D Street SW to its intersection with the east- 17 ern right-of-way of 14th Street SW; 18 (36) thence south along said eastern right-of- 19 way of 14th Street SW to its intersect [Text truncated for display. 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