Skip to main content

On The Hill: Norton Protests/Rallies To Keep DC Vote

The Congresswoman first secured a vote in the Committee of the Whole during the 103rd Congress, when Democrats were in the majority. Norton submitted a legal memorandum and obtained the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole for D.C residents who pay federal taxes without a vote in either congressional body.

Because D.C. had never voted on the House floor, Democrats vetted the issue with outside attorneys, and Republicans later lost a challenge to delegate voting in the federal courts. Delegate voting in committees has long been permitted by House Rules, and the Committee of the Whole is also a committee created by House rules.

When Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, however, they eliminated the delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole. In 2007, Democrats regained control of the House again and instituted the delegate vote again.

Because it had worked so well without controversy, Norton had hoped to retain the vote this time, even writing House Speaker John Boehner before the rules were published requesting that D.C.'s vote be maintained. After the draft of the new House rules was made public, she called Boehner's office to schedule a meeting with him, but without success.

Today on the Hill, Norton was joined by new DC mayor, Vincent Gray and others.   Norton commented on the support of Gray as follows:

"It was all hands on deck this morning, as Mayor Vincent Gray, only 2 days in office, spoke passionately at the DC Vote rally to maintain DC's vote in the Committee of the Whole. Very important that he was there to send the message that an attack on the vote we do have is an attack on the city itself. I especially appreciated his presence. After all, it is not my vote. I'm just the messenger. Showing up is a necessary part of winning in this business, so it was really good that I was not there by myself among city leaders. DC Vote provided most of the troops, who then went to lobby Members to save our vote. I hope you keep track of what's happening with this issue."

For more on this issue, visit www.letdcvote.org.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making.   The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks --  when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop&quo
Post a Comment
Read more

(OTR): The White House on Hamas Terrorist Attack

 Tip: long read. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2023 VIRTUAL ON-THE-RECORD GAGGLE BY NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS JOHN KIRBY ON HAMAS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ISRAEL   Via Teleconference 5:54 P.M. EDT   MR. KIRBY:  Good evening, everybody.  As you know, the White House has been closely following the situation in Israel, and the President has been actively engaged, regularly receiving updates on the latest developments from the national security team.  In fact, this morning, he met with members of the senior team -- including the Secretary of State; National Security Advisor; the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor; the Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall; and, of course, the White House Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients -- all to receive the latest update from -- from the morning.   ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   He has also spoken twice with Prime Minister Netanyahu this -- over the weekend, certainly to express our deep sympathy for all those missi
Post a Comment
Read more

President Biden's EV Agenda

  Electric Vehicles   President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Unleashing a Manufacturing and Clean Energy Boom and Accelerating the Production of Affordable Electric Vehicles   As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House is announcing the first set of public and private commitments to support America's historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge.   ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS These commitments are part of President Biden's  Investing in America  agenda to spur domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, boost U.S. competitiveness and create good-paying jobs. Because of President Biden’s leadership and historic investments, electric vehicle sales have tripled and the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by over 40 percent since he took office. There are now more than three million EVs on the road and over 135,000 public EV charg
Post a Comment
Read more