PREFACE Vice-President Mondale, speaking for President Carter, has stated: 66 to promote equal representation, the Administration supports approval of a Constitutional Amendment proposed by District Delegate Fauntroy, which would provide full voting representation in both Houses of Congress, as well as in the selection of the President and Vice-President and in the ratification of Constitutional Amendments." DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM - 1976 "We support full Home Rule for the District of Columbia, including... full voting representation in the Congress." REPUBLICAN PLATFORM - 1976 "We support giving the District of Columbia voting representation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. 99 For a listing of others who support D.C. Full Voting Representation, see Appendix B. Additional information can be obtained by writing or calling: The Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy U.S. House of Representatives 2441 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 (202) 225-8050 Attention: Johnny Barnes, Legislative Counsel Eldridge Spearman, Press Assistant III. E2 C. The Events Which Led to the Immediate A. The Historical Problem of District Representation in Congress has been that Representation is Alledged to be Conditioned on Statehood. B. Commonly Raised Issues and Answers Inside Back Cover INTRODUCTION governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Declaration of Independence America has made great strides in its development as a premier democracy, based on the enduring principles of the Founding Fathers. It, therefore, seems astonishing that the birthright of the American people-that of electing Members of Congress and enjoying representation by them—a right normally taken for granted-is denied to three-quarters of a million Americans residing at the very seat of the government. Residents of the District of Columbia are relegated to the status of second-class citizens. According them full voting representation in the Congress is a glaring piece of unfinished business that would finally mend the crack in the Liberty Bell. Is it really possible that the Founding Fathers, who fought so desperately to win independence from "taxation without representation," would turn around and purposefully disenfranchise a segment of the population? The evidence certainly does not support such a contention. Oversight by the Continental Congress, pressed with the creation of the laws of a new nation, seems clearly to have accounted for the inadvertent disenfranchisement. Throughout history our government has espoused the virtues of democracy to the world. Unfortunately, for 700,000 residents, and for the nation as a whole, that democracy comes to a halt at the borders of the District. The gates to equality are closed within view of the Washington Monument. House Joint Resolution 554, which passed the House on March 2, 1978, by an overwhelming vote of 289-127, proposes an amendment to the Constitution which would enable District of Columbia residents to elect two voting Senators, as well as the number of voting representatives to which they would be entitled if the District were a state. H.J. Res. 554 is not a statehood bill. It would simply complete the rights of the Twenty-Third Amendment-enacted in 1961, which enabled District residents to vote for the President and Vice President-to include representation in Congress. The Constitution of the United States does not expressly deny Congressional representation to District residents. However, the principles of democracy-the essence of our Constitution, laboriously etched by the blood and sacrifice of Americans throughout the years-demand that we extend, during the 95th Congress, full voting representation to the people of the District of Columbia. To further delay this fundamental right is to deny democracy. I ask for your support in this effort. Orain Faventio WALTER E. FAUNTROY 3 United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Colleague: This morning, by an impressive two-thirds vote, the House of Representatives approved a constitutional amendment (H.J. Res. 554) to provide full voting representation for the District of Columbia in both the House and the Senate. As supporters or cosponsors of the companion Senate measure, we are writing to urge your support for the amendment and for an end to the long-standing and unjust second class status of District citizens in our government. One of the most honored principles of our democracy is the concept of “one person, one vote." In the District of Columbia, however, that principle has no application. Instead, for District citizens, the rule is "700,000 persons, no vote." For too long, the District of Columbia has been called “America's last Colony." Now, for the first time in many years, we have the chance to change all that. The House of Representatives has voted to end the injustice by which citizens of the District are denied their proper representation in Congress, and we believe the Senate should act as well. During extensive hearings by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, leading Constitutional scholars strongly endorsed full voting representation for the District, including representation in the Senate as well as in the House. Among those testifying in support of H.J. Res. 554, for example, was Professor Charles Alan Wright of the University of Texas School of law, who testified: It seems to me that the clear purpose of [the "Equal Suffrage Clause" of the Constitution; Article V*—] was to insure that the Great Compromise would not be undone and that representation in the Senate would not be put on the basis of population. That purpose is not compromised by allowing the District to have two Senators any more than it is when a new state is admitted. For your interest, we are attaching a staff briefing paper prepared in the House in support of H.J. Res. 554. It deals with all of the major issues and makes a solid case for approval of the Resolution. We urge your support for this fundamental principle of justice for the citizens of the nation's capital, and we look forward to favorable Senate action on this Resolution. "... no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." 4 |