WASHNGTON, DC (Press Release)— The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) on Thursday condemned the vote in the House of Representatives that will take away the ability of the congressional delegate from the District of Columbia to vote on pending legislation. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan released the following statement:
“In votes taken this week, a majority in the House of Representatives chose to turn their backs on basic democratic principles and deny more than 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia their right to real representation in Congress. Before this action, Washington’s delegate did have a limited vote in the House. Removing her vote altogether, given the lack of any vote in the US Senate, leaves no voice in Congress for the citizens of the district — the only capital city in the world whose residents lack any representation in the national legislature.
“All members of Congress typically run for election asserting their devotion to democracy, yet voting rights in our nation’s capital have become a partisan issue. Unfortunately this attitude toward the district’s residents extends further, to overturning laws enacted by local government when those laws offend the majority party in the House or Senate. The consequences have been dire — for example, in the past Washington, DC, was barred from implementing a needle exchange program, until all 50 states had them, contributing to the fact that it has the highest HIV rate of any city in the country. Congress has also foisted a school voucher program on the city and banned the use of local government funds for abortions. The next target will likely be the district’s marriage equality law permitting gays and lesbians to marry in the city.
“Efforts to provide some representation in Congress for Washington residents have been successful only when Democrats control the House. It is time for this issue to be stripped of its partisan content in favor of implementing the spirit of our Constitution, a document that enshrines the right of the governed to elect the representatives who determine their fate.”
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Preceding provided by the National Council of Jewish Women. Eleanor Holmes-Norton is Washington D.C.’s current delegate in the House of Representatives.