For the first time the House passed a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. If the bill gets past the Senate, here's how H.R. 51, The D.C. Statehood Act would work. As I warned last fall, Democrats are pushing to make Washington, D.C. America’s 51st state. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., brought a statehood measure to the House floor Thursday. A tantalizing GOP counterproposal could slow or even derail this locomotive as it moves through Congress. Republicans are resisting this statehood idea, as well they should. Democrats, in turn, blame the GOP’s reluctance on — what else? — "Racism!"