| Home Rule In The District Of Columbia |
March 1, 2012 |
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Eleanor Norton, D-DC
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"It’s important to note that when the Home Rule Act was passed in 1973, the first line said that the purpose was to “restore” to the citizens of the District of Columbia, “restore”. Those words, I think, were chosen with great meaning and understanding of history, “restore” because it was clear that the people who lived in this city had every right of every other American citizen before the city was created, that those from Maryland, Virginia, who gave the land, saw to it that these rights were preserved. Only in the political maneuverings of the Congress itself has that right been at risk, but that right has never been at risk except for Members of Congress who did not adhere to the principles of full democracy for every citizen of the United States."
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| Right To Vote Under Attack |
November 16, 2011 |
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Rush Holt, D-NJ
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"The 19th Amendment said women can vote. The 23rd Amendment said citizens of the District of Columbia could vote in Presidential elections. The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes. And in 1965, as I referred to earlier, in the aftermath of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the Voting Rights Act was passed, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or language-minority status. It prohibits the use of suppressive tactics in various poll tests."
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| A National Redistricting Commission |
November 15, 2011 |
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Earl Blumenauer, D-OR
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"I would propose that we would establish a national commission, composed of ex-Presidents, retired Federal justices, previous congressional leaders, housed in an independent, professional agency, not unlike what Iowa has done successfully for decades. These distinguished and independent experts would establish uniform criteria and congressional district lines for each State to respect the communities of interest—the ethnic, cultural and historic boundaries—rather than just partisan affiliation. Indeed, we may even consider competitiveness to be a positive outcome. It would then be approved by Congress with an up-or-down vote like we do with base closings. We may even fix the outrage that denies American citizens of the District of Columbia, our Nation’s capital, voting representation. Congress should enact these proposals now while the abuse of the process is clear in everyone’s minds—well before the next Census in 2020."
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| Home Rule For The District Of Columbia |
July 12, 2011 |
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Eleanor Norton, D-DC
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"The world saw the reaction the last time the Congress tried to add attachments to the District of Columbia appropriation. It was in the budget deal of 2011. At a time when people in the Mideast were in the streets against their government, it was our government that went into the streets, and you saw elected officials from the top of the government, both the executive and the legislature, arrested in acts of civil disobedience because of intrusion on the way that the citizens of the District of Columbia spend their own local money. And the White House was not exempt. Residents also went to the White House and some were arrested right there because the White House agreed to the 2011 budget deal at the very last minute."
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