Political Quotes

“I welcome the bipartisanship that is apparent in some of these rules. A rules package worthy of this House, however, would return the vote in the Committee of the Whole to the taxpaying District's residents. Some rules inevitably reflect partisan desires in either caucus. But surely there is no partisan answer to the question: Should taxpaying American citizens have voting representation in the Committee of the Whole in this body. The House said yes in 1993. The Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court said yes when it was challenged. The people I represent have met every obligation of citizenship. They have fought and died in every war. They sent more people to fight in Desert Storm than 47 States. Yet, it is our taxpaying status that might most move this tax-conscious body. We are third, per capita, in Federal income taxes sent to the Federal Treasury; $1.7 billion sent last year. Do I have to remind this body that our forefathers went to war over taxation without representation? Make peace with the District of Columbia on the vote that was taken away in 1993. We have a tough new mayor who has helped bring the city out of insolvency. We have a brand-new oversight-conscious city council. The city is running surpluses. Yet every law my city enacts comes here before it becomes law. Every cent we raise in the District must be appropriated by this body, although this body gives us no Federal payment.”