[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 22, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 1433, The District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act.
  I want to encourage my colleagues to vote to extend full 
representation to the District of Columbia as well as to the state of 
Utah. The District of Columbia has long been recognized as one of the 
most Democratic jurisdictions in the Nation. Utah, by contrast, gave 
President Bush his largest margin of victory in the 2004 presidential 
elections. Extending rights to both sides of the spectrum would be the 
most politically neutral way to ensure proper and sufficient 
representation for all of our citizens.
  Regarding the residents of the District of Columbia, they have the 
full burden of Federal taxation and military conscription. These 
reasons alone should give the residents of the District of Columbia 
equal voting rights. In addition, voting rights have been extended to 
overseas voters, as well as to those in Federal enclaves within a 
State. Fairness and justice demand that Congress do the same for the 
citizens of the District, who are subjected to all Federal laws.
  Madam Speaker, some argue that the Framers never intended to give the 
District voting rights in Congress. In reality, however, the Founding 
Fathers never actually spoke about the District's rights because it was 
little more than a contemplated entity at the time. In fact, Congress 
has plenary power to address the welfare of the District and its 
residents.
  Another concern voiced by those who oppose the bill claim that the 
residents of the District will demand more rights. This is not 
necessarily true. However, if the District were to demand more rights, 
then it would be strictly a legal question and should therefore be 
reserved for the courts--not the House--to decide what is permissible 
and what is not.
  The District now has a little over half a million people, which was 
probably never contemplated by the Framers more than 200 years ago. It 
is my belief that the Framers of the Constitution would probably not 
support the idea that citizens of the United States are paying Federal 
taxes without fair and just representation in Congress.
  Madam Speaker, it truly is telling and somewhat shameful when several 
prominent international groups such as the Organization of American 
States (OAS), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
(OSCE) and the U.N.'s Committee on Human Rights have all advocated for 
DC residents to obtain equal voting rights. Shouldn't we do the same? I 
think so. I hope the rest of my colleagues share in this belief and 
vote favorably on the passage of H.R. 1433.

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