Patrick Kennedy: “I never could have thought I would see it, a House that is run by a conservative majority that is bent on imposing its…”

“I never could have thought I would see it, a House that is run by a conservative majority that is bent on imposing its will on the minority. We have seen it many times, but, Mr. Speaker, it is so interesting to see that, this morning, we are taking up an issue, we are enforcing our will upon the people of this District of Columbia. Whereas, we would not even allow any other State or this Congress to dictate its will against the interests of our own local communities, we are prepared to do that to the District of Columbia. It should not be any surprise, I suppose, to our delegate, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton). She has seen it too many times where she represents a populace here in Washington, D.C., that does not have the vote, does not have the vote here in the Halls of Congress. It does have a vote, however, on the local management of the city, not until today. Today, the Congress says, not only will you not have a vote in the Halls of the Congress, not only as United States citizens will you be denied the right to vote, but you will also be denied in your own local government to decide what is in the best interests of your people.”