may attempt to enforce a restriction which operates to limit the powers of the new state with respect to matters which would otherwise be exclusively within the sphere of state power. 34 The first type of condition presents no real constitutional problem. Clearly, Congress may approve or reject admission to statehood for any reason it sees fit. If Congress does not approve of a proposed state constitution, it may clearly so inform the potential state, and condition admission upon a state constitution that meets its approval. After statehood is achieved, however, the sovereign state has full authority to change its constitution as it sees fit, subject to the restrictions of the federal constitution. Such changes could include removal of the changes demanded by Congress as conditions to admission. The constitutional issue arises when Congress attempts to bind the new state to the conditions for statehood after `it has achieved that status. The "equal footing doctrine" provides that the states admitted to the -Union subsequent to the approval of i. the federal constitution are to be entities of equal status with the original thirteen states. Article IV, $3 of the federal constitution grants Congress the authority to admit new states to the Union. The varying powers and authority of "states" within the federal framework are defined by the federal constitution. Were Congress permitted to exact permanently binding restrictions on state authority as a condition for admission to the Union, the relationship between Congress and all states admitted after the original thirteen would be ultimately determined, not by the Constitution, but by Congress itself. Such a situation would fly 35 in the face of the clear intent of the framers. Thus, any congressional restrictions or expansion of state authority in its statehood enabling acts cannot bind the state under Congress' Article IV, $3 authority to admit new states. Congress, however, wields powers under the Constitution, pursuant to which it can legislate with respect to the states. If a conditional admission to statehood is to be binding in the future, it must be done pursuant to the constitutional legislative powers granted to Congress over all states. Congress may, therefore, include in an enabling act conditions relating only to matters within its sphere of powers, such as regulation of interstate commerce and disposition of public lands. `Such conditions take their binding effect from Congress' legislative power over the states, not from an extortion of conditions for 36 statehood. The fifth and final question is: Can the Congress rewrite the proposed Constitution submitted by the District? Congress cannot rewrite the proposed constitution and approve statehood on that basis without first having the District explicitly approve 351d. at 566-67. 361d. at 570. the changes. Such a procedure (congressional rewriting followed While the by an approval by local voters) would be a reverse of the normal procedure in which a proposed constitution is drafted by the state, approved by local voters and then by Congress. reverse procedure seems constitutional per se, one could imagine that if Congress can rewrite parts of a state constitution, it may, in effect, write such a constitution in its entirety. Such a situation, it seems, would conflict with the notion that a Ladies and Gentlemen, The Constitutional path to statehood is not cluttered. residents have shown their devotion to the three customary criteria for statehood. They have evidenced their loyalty to the principles of democracy in their voting records. Even though residents were only extended the franchise as recently as 1961, 60.7 percent of the registered voters actually voted in the Presidential election of 1980. 37 The fact that residents of the District of Columbia are seeking to become a state and to obtain. the same rights of citizenship as other United States citizens enjoy, provides ample support for their belief in the democratic principles of this nation. The long history of the quest for statehood for the District of Columbia shows support for the democratic form of government, 37 1985). Statistical Abstract of the United States, 253 (105th ed., as well as its fulfillment of the second requirement of statehood showing a continued desire by residents for statehood. The third qualification for statehood is two-fold. First, a proposed state must have "sufficient resources" to support statehood and to make appropriate contributions to the federal government. "The city's population was 626,000 in mid 1985,... up 1,000 from a year earlier...."38 Under the Constitution, a minimum of 60,000 free inhabitants is the number required for admission. According to the 1980 Census, the District of 40. 39 Columbia was larger than four other states in the Union. "The resources which [are] thought to be necessary to sustain a State government include: human, natural, individual, commercial and agricultural elements." Economically, the District has two major activities that provide it with income. The first is the federal civil service, which is the largest employer in the area. The "second largest source of income derives from the millions of tourists who visit the District each year."41 The taxes currently paid by District-residents to the federal government manifestly illustrate the strong ability of such residents to carry their share of the cost of the Federal Government. 1985). 38, 39 40. washington Post, Jan. 20, 1986 at Bl, col. a. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 11 (105th ed., Equal Citizenship, supra note 26 at 358. 4129 Encyclopedia Brittanica, Washington, D.C. 724, 730 (1985). Residents of the District of Columbia pay more federal taxes than eleven other states. Moreover, the per capita tax payment in the 42 District is higher than forty-nine of the present states. Under the discretion of Congress, many proposed states have waited decades before entering the Union. The usual reason for delay has been that Congress has decided that the proposed state is not "ready for statehood". The people by their activities and the peculiar nature and history of the District of Columbia demonstrate the distinct readiness for representation. Furthermore, "the purpose for which the Federal District was to enable Congress to have exclusive jurisdiction over created - its surroundings - is not incompatible with statehood for the people who reside in the Nation's Capital. "43 Granting the District of Columbia statehood would resolve the unequal citizenship status that residents have suffered since the inception of the District. I cite the most glaring inequities: Residents of the District did not even gain the right to vote in the Presidential elections.until 1961 with the adoption of the twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution. District residents are not yet entitled to a delegate who may vote on the floor of Congress. Although citizens of the District of Columbia have elected, by popular vote, one representative to the House since 1971, this representative, nonetheless, can only |