Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I thank my friend for yielding. I strongly oppose this undemocratic, paternalistic resolution. There is only one…”

“I thank my friend for yielding. I strongly oppose this undemocratic, paternalistic resolution. There is only one question before this House. The question is: Do you believe in democracy? More specifically: Should the District of Columbia's local legislature, whose members are elected by D.C. residents, make the laws for D.C., or should Congress, whose voting Members are elected by the residents of the several States, make laws for D.C.? What is democracy? The dictionary defines it as a ``government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.'' Perhaps President Lincoln described democracy best in the Gettysburg Address when he said that it is government of the people, by the people, for the people. D.C.'s local legislature, the D.C. Council, has 13 members. The members are elected by D.C. residents. Eight members are elected by geographical area, and five members are elected at-large. If D.C. residents do not like how the members vote, then they can vote them out of office. Congress has 535 voting Members. The Members are elected by residents of the several States. None are elected by D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like how the Members vote, even on legislation that applies only to D.C., they can only ask politely for the residents of the several States to vote them out of office.…”