The Senate now stands in the middle of the Washington Commanders’ stadium search, which has become a regional competition between D.C. and Maryland.

Via A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSport.com, a bill that would make the site of RFK Stadium a viable destination emerged from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by the vote of 17-2. Said a Commanders spokesperson,

A bill to grant Washington, D.C. control of the federal land where the old RFK Stadium site is located has passed, the first step in luring the Washington Commanders back to the District.

The vote marks one more hurdle cleared toward possibly bringing the team back to Washington, D.C., as the bill will now move to a floor vote in the Senate.