Saturday, September 15, 2007

Bring representation to the District of Columbia

Public Citizen's Congress Watch is running an email campaign asking the public to help bring congressional representation to the District of Columbia. The DC Voting Rights Act would also add a House of Representatives seat to Utah.

September 14, 2007
Dear David,
While we endlessly debate the possibility of democracy in Iraq, our democracy at home remains in question.
More than half a million people live in the capital of the United States without voting representation in Congress. Yes, the citizens of the District of Columbia pay U.S. taxes, fight and die for the U.S. during wartime and yet, shockingly, they have no vote in the Congress that governs them.
A vote to right this wrong is imminent - but we need your help.
A key procedural vote on the DC Voting Rights Act is scheduled for Tuesday, September 18. We must act now to prevent some senators from blocking this bill. If Tuesday's motion succeeds, the Senate could next vote on the bill for final passage. If it fails, an endless filibuster could ensue, killing the bill that the House already passed in pril.
The bill would provide for a seat for traditionally Democratic Washington, D.C., with an additional seat for Republican-leaning Utah, making it a partisan and politically neutral bill.
Citizens in the District of Columbia don't have senators of their own to call, so they need you to stand up for them and our democratic values. Contact your senators today and insist that they allow this important civil rights legislation to proceed to the floor for a vote!
Tell your senators to make history by ending taxation without representation in Washington.
Sincerely,
Angela Canterbury, Public Citizen Field & Outreach Director of Congress Watch mailto:Watchaction@citizen.org

1 comment:

  1. WASHINGTON (CNN) – The DC Voting Rights Bill failed to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to reach cloture and move toward a vote Tuesday.

    The bill would have given the District of Columbia the right to a representative in Congress with full voting rights. The District currently has an elected delegate who does not have the right to vote on legislation that comes to the floor of the House of Representatives, but can sometimes vote for legislation when it is considered at the committee level.

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