WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Could Washington D.C. become the 51st state? Lawmakers are examining if it is possible.

“DC residents are American citizens,” New York Congresswoman Caroline Maloney said.

Maloney says residents of Washington D.C. should get the recognition and representation they deserve.

“This legislation would fulfill the promise of democracy for more than 712,000 Americans who call Washington D.C. their home,” Maloney said.

The bill would maintain a smaller federal district around the capitol and National Mall, but transform the rest into Washington, Douglas Commonwealth, the union’s fifty-first state.

“HR-51 has both the facts and the constitution on its side,” DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said.  

Norton introduced the bill and says the people who live in the district deserve equality.

“Congress can no longer allow dc residents to be sidelined in the democratic process,” Norton said.

However, Republicans say giving DC statehood is just a power grab by Democrats trying to push their agenda on the rest of the country.

“To reshape America, along with the green new deal, defunding the police and packing the U.S supreme court,” Kentucky Congressman James Comer said.

Comer says DC statehood would be unconstitutional and would require a constitutional amendment first.  

“Congress must reject this proposal, congress knows better,” Comer said.

Even if this bill passed in the House, it would face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate.