Today DC Vote was joined by 27 national, regional and local groups in delivering a letter to the United States House of Representatives. This coalition of groups is calling on Congress to respect the local autonomy of Washington DC and end the attacks on self-determination in governance.
“Representative Chaffetz, Representative Smith and Senator Rubio have all decided that local control and self-governance should matter greatly when it involves their constituents,” said Bo Shuff, Director of Advocacy for DC Vote. “However, when it comes to the 670,000 people who call the District home they seek to overturn the decisions we’ve made for ourselves through our elected leadership. It doesn’t make sense.”
Since the beginning of the 115th Congress, three attacks on DC home-rule have been introduced by several Members of Congress. This follows on the heels of more than 25 efforts in 2016. Introduced under the guise of oversight of the District of Columbia, they are, in fact, direct attacks on the right to equal representation that should be afforded to every DC resident.
“DC has passed balanced budgets for more than 20 years and we contribute more in federal taxes than 21 other states,” added Shuff. “Last November 86% of DC voters supported the only permanent solution to ending our second-class citizenship – Statehood. However, because we have no vote in Congress, they have decided to run roughshod over our rights. DC Vote has always and will continue to fight back against this oppression and work to move the cause of Equality for DC forward.”