Our democracy can no longer tolerate it. Our government can no longer support it.

If not this solution, then what?

It is hard to explain to anyone why a nation that sees itself as a beacon of democracy keeps the more than half-million inhabitants of its capitol city from normal participation in the governance of the country.

I may just do a quick segue here, I am a huge baseball fan.

We are not looking for special treatment. We are looking for the same treatment that every State has.

I think it is high time that you brought attention to this outrageous situation that citizens of the District of Columbia find themselves in.

The bill I introduced is the latest chapter of that ongoing effort.

We pay taxes, we serve in the armed forces, we do everything that other citizens do, if necessary die in foreign wars, but we do not have the full rights of democracy.

I think equality is a prerequisite to democracy, and any other solution that does not give us full equality, I think, is like asking us to sit in the middle of the bus.

Thanks for being here today and for your leadership of the control board all those many years ago.

We had no pension fund, we had no cash management system.

It is incumbent upon those of us who enjoy the right and privilege of full voting rights to take up the cause of our fellow citizens here in the District of Columbia and to find a workable solution.

I think Dr. Coburn raised an issue about Federal funds.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 11, 2014, at 3:15 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Committee…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 11, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The…

Mr. President, this is an uneasy time in our world. There is no shortage of crises that demand our attention and our action. The President called on us last night to step up to the very real challenge posed by the terrorist group ISIS in…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 11, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 11, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an…