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On June 26, 2020, the US House of Representatives voted to do something it had never done before.
2020年6月26日，众议院投票决定做一件从未做过的事。
It passed a bill to create the 51st state by giving the US capital, Washington, DC, statehood.
他们通过了一项法案，承认首都华盛顿特区（DC）为美国的第51个州。
Members of the House of Representatives each represent between 500,000 and a million Americans.
众议院每位议员都代表着50万~100万民众。
DC's 700,000 residents are represented by this woman: Eleanor Holmes Norton.
DC70万居民的议员代表就是她——埃莉诺·霍姆斯·诺顿。
But she couldn't vote on the statehood bill, because she's different from other members.
不过，她不能参与有关立华盛顿为州的投票，原因是她和其他议员不一样。
She can speak on the floor and introduce bills, but she can't actually vote.
她能出席议会，参与发言，也能拟立新法，但不能参与投票表决。
Americans in territories like Puerto Rico and Guam are also represented in Congress by “delegates” who can't vote.
波多黎各和关岛等地区的国会“代表”也没有表决资格。
But Americans in these places don't pay federal taxes to the US government.
问题是，这些地方的居民无需向美国政府缴纳联邦税。
DC residents do.
华盛顿的居民却要缴纳联邦税。
In fact, in DC, the average person pays more in federal taxes than in any state.
事实上，DC人均缴纳的联邦税比任何州的居民都多。
And they're not happy about it.
对此他们并不满意。
It's why DC's license plates say “Taxation without representation.”
这也是为什么DC的车牌上写着“有纳税，无代表”的原因。
President Trump has promised to block Washington, DC, from becoming a state.
特朗普总统曾承诺阻止DC的“建州梦”。
So that House vote was mostly symbolic.
因此，众议院的投票很大程度上都只是一次象征性的投票。
But Washington, DC's residents are clear on what they want.
不过，DC的居民对于自己想要什么可是十分的清楚。
So will DC ever actually become a state?
那么问题来了，DC真的能建州么？
And should it?
应该建州么？
In the US, the federal government is not supposed to be based in a state.
在美国，联邦政府是不能设在某一个州的。
The Constitution says it should be in a neutral federal district — what, today, is called the District of Columbia.
宪法规定，它应该设立在一个中立的联邦地区——也即今天的哥伦比亚特区。
But since the founding of the country, the district has grown into a major city.
然而，自建国以来，该地区已经发展成了一个大都市。
"For most of its existence as a city, the District has been under the control of the United States Congress."
“自从有了这个城市，DC大部分时间都是处在国会控制之下的。”
Starting in the 1960s, Congress made some concessions to DC's calls for representation.
20世纪60年代以来，面对DC申请代表权的要求，国会已经做出了一些让步。
It granted them electoral college votes for presidential elections, a non-voting member in Congress,
不仅给了DC总统大选时参加选举人团投票的资格，还给了他们一个国会无投票席位，
and finally, the right to elect their own local government.
甚至还给了他们自己选举地方政府的权利。
But because Congress still completely controls their budget,
问题是，由于国会照旧控制着该特区的所有预算，
they often undermine DC's local government --
他们还是会经常削弱DC地方政府的权力——
which is another major reason DC residents want statehood.
这也是DC人想要建州的另一大原因。
"Like most cities in the United States, it is a progressive city.
“和美国大多数城市一样，DC也在不断地发展。
And so its laws conflict, in some measure, with that of conservative Republicans."
这样一来，当地的法律就，在一定程度上，和保守派的共和党人订立的法律相冲突了。”
That's understating it a little.
这么说还说轻了。
In the 2016 election, Trump only got a whopping 4% of the vote in DC.
2016年大选时，特朗普在DC的支持率只有4%。
Congress has kept DC from using their local tax dollars on things like abortion services,
国会一直在阻止DC将当地税收投入到堕胎服务，
or needle-exchange programs to reduce HIV/AIDS.
减少艾滋病（病毒）的针头交换项目等方面。
They've tried to undercut DC's gun laws and same-sex marriage benefits.
他们还试图妨碍华盛顿的枪支法律及同性婚姻福利。
And they stopped the city from legalizing marijuana.
还阻止了该市将大麻合法化。
"There are issues in the country, that are very controversial, that Republicans can't do anything about.
“这个国家有一些很有争议，共和党人却无能为力的问题。
So they use the District as a prop."
于是，DC就成了他们的支柱。”
Holmes Norton's plan would turn most of the District of Columbia into a new state, called the Douglass Commonwealth.
根据霍姆斯·诺顿的方案，哥伦比亚特区的大部分地区都将划入新的州：道格拉斯联邦。
There would still be a federal district around the actual government buildings,
现存政府大楼周边还是会设一个联邦区，
but the remaining 66 square miles of neighborhoods would become the newest, smallest state.
但剩下的66平方英里的社区将变成美国最新、最小的州。
But it would still have a larger population than two states, and would be about the same size as four others.
但论人口，还有两个州比该州小，四个州与该州大致相当。
So, what's the holdup?
那么，究竟是什么在牵绊着它呢？
Well, representatives from other states have lots of reasons.
事实上，其他州的代表们给出了多方面的原因。
"The Founding Fathers did not intend for Washington, DC, to be a state."
开国元勋们并没有打算让DC成为一个州。
"Washington, DC, is a city, not a state."
“DC是市不是州。”
"There is no manufacturing.
“没有制造业。
There is no mining or logging."
没有采矿业，也没有伐木业啊。”
But it's not a coincidence that every representative speaking out against statehood here is Republican.
不过，所有这些公开反对DC建州的代表都是共和党人却并不是一次巧合。
Statehood would give DC, and most likely the Democratic Party,
建州之后，DC，更准确地说很有可能就是民主党，
one more vote in the House of Representatives, and two more votes in the Senate.
就会在众议院多出一票，在参议员多出两票。
Which means the actual obstacle to statehood, is politics.
换句话说，建州的真正障碍其实是，政治。
"Indeed, always, statehood is a political question."
“没错，一直都是这样，建州问题一直都是一个政治问题。”
In the decades after the US was founded, new states were regularly added, and without much issue --
建国后的几十年里经常有新的州加入联邦，还都没有出现太多问题——
until 1818, when Missouri wanted to become a new state.
直到1818年，密苏里州想要建州。
At that time, power in Congress was evenly balanced between states that allowed slavery, and states that didn't.
当时，在允许奴隶制存在和不允许奴隶制存在的问题上，国会的势力格局还是比较均衡的。
Missouri, which would become a slave state, would tip that balance —
密苏里，如果建州成功就会成为一个奴隶州，就会打破这一平衡——
which representatives of the free states didn't want.
这是自由州的代表们所不愿看到的结局。
So Congress came up with a compromise:
于是，国会提出了一个折衷的方案：
Missouri would be added at the same time as Maine, a free state.
密苏里需要和缅因——主张自由——同时建州。
A pair, to keep the political balance.
这样它们就能构成一对，就能维持（国会的）政治平衡了。
After that, states were mostly added in pairs.
自那之后成立的州大多都是成对新增的。
Arkansas, a slave state, with Michigan, a free state;
阿肯色州是奴隶州，密歇根州是自由州；
Florida, a slave state, with Iowa, a free state; Texas, a slave state, with Wisconsin, a free state.
佛罗里达州是奴隶州，爱荷华州是自由州；德克萨斯州是奴隶州，威斯康星州是自由州……
And that system has also been used to keep the balance between the political parties,
维持政党平衡采用的也是这一制度，
most recently in 1959, with the addition of Hawaii,
最近一次运用是在1959年，夏威夷和阿拉斯加加入联邦州的时候，
which leaned Republican at the time, and Alaska, which leaned Democratic.
夏威夷倾向支持共和党，阿拉斯加则倾向于支持民主党。
Right now, Democrats control one house of Congress,
现在，民主党人控制了国会的一个议院，
but Republicans control the other one, as well as the presidency.
但共和党不仅掌控了另一个议员，还占据了总统席位。
And as long as that's the case, DC is unlikely to become a state on its own.
只要这一形势不被打破，DC就不可能单独建州。
"It would certainly be easier if there were some ready jurisdiction to be made a state that was a Republican jurisdiction."
“如果有现成的司法管辖区能立为共和党州的话，DC要建州肯定就会容易得多。”
The last time the House voted on DC statehood was in 1993,
众议院上一次就DC建州一事进行投票是1993年，
when Democrats had an even bigger majority than they do today.
当时的民主党占据的多数席位优势比现在还要明显。
The bill still failed, with more than 100 Democrats voting no.
结果依然失败了，有100多名民主党人投了反对票。
2020 is turning out to be different.
事实表明，2020年和1993年不一样。
"Coronavirus begins to take a toll on the US economy."
“新冠病毒已经开始严重伤害美国经济。”
"More than 6 million Americans filed jobless claims."
“逾600万美国人申请了失业救济.”
In March, as millions lost their jobs, Congress passed a coronavirus relief bill, giving each state at least a billion dollars.
今年3月，由于数百万人失业，国会通过了一项新冠病毒救济法案，给每个州下发至少10亿美元的救济资金。
But DC, which is usually treated like a state in most congressional funding,
问题是，国会发放资金时一贯与州同待遇的DC
was instead treated as a US territory, and got less than half that.
这次却被视为了美国领土，拿到的资金连10亿的一半都不到。
"Being treated like a territory is shocking. It's infuriating."
“被当作领土对待太出乎大家的意料了。也让人特别窝火。”
In June, as protests against police violence spread across the country, the National Guard patrolled parts of the city.
今年6月，随着反对警察暴力的抗议活动传遍全国，DC的很多地方都出现了巡逻的国民警卫队。
That kind of occupation would be illegal in every state.
这种情况放到任何州都是违法的。
But not in DC.
但在DC就不违法。
"There shouldn't be troops from other states in Washington, DC.
“DC不应该出现其他州的军队。
The last several days demonstrate that our fight for statehood is also about our right to autonomy."
过去几天的情况表明，我们争取州地位的斗争也是一场争取自治权的斗争。”
"It's time for statehood to come to Washington, DC."
“DC也是时候建州了。”
"We've seen in very painful, and frankly violent terms,
“我们已经看到，通过非常痛苦的，坦白说还很暴力的场面看到，
what the lack of statehood can bring to the residents of the District of Columbia."
缺乏州地位能给哥伦比亚特区的人带来怎样的伤害。”
Right now, the people in charge of the federal government oppose DC statehood.
如今，联邦政府的负责人对DC建州一事均持反对态度。
But it only takes one election to change that.
不过，改变这一形势只需一次选举。
"My own grandfather became one of the first African Americans in the DC fire department.
“我祖父就是首批进入DC消防局的非裔之一。
His father, Richard Holmes, was a runaway slave from Virginia.
他的父亲，理查德·霍姆斯，还是从弗吉尼亚州跑出来的一名逃跑奴隶。
He walked to freedom.
他走向了自由。
But he didn't walk to equality.
却没能走向平等。
So I figure I'm picking up where he left off.
所以，我就想接着他的路走下去。
He got us to freedom, he got the Holmes family to freedom;
他让我们获得了自由，让整个霍姆斯家族获得了自由；
now I've got to get the Holmes family, and all my constituents, to equality."
那我就得让霍姆斯家族，让我所有的选民获得平等。”
