Sen. Kennedy: Making Washington, D.C. a State Could Be ‘Unconstitutional’

EXCERPT:

KENNEDY: "I think it’s all about power, like everything else in Washington, D.C. I mean, I haven’t studied the issue as extensively as some, Neil, but some say it would be unconstitutional. If you look at Article I of the Constitution, the idea of our Founders was that there would be an independent district not beholding to any state, not influenced by any state. Another argument I’ve heard is that demand for the district came from Maryland and Virginia. Virginia’s land has been given back, but if D.C. no longer was D.C., D.C. wouldn’t own the land, Maryland would. It would cost the District of Columbia a lot of money. Congress puts up about $700 million a year I think to defray the district's expenses.”