Political Quotes

“Reserving the right to object, the question here is about the control by Congress over the District of Columbia governance and the right to self-govern. There has been a tendency in this Congress, and there is debate in this Congress, about whether there should be home rule for Washington. I believe there should be. Many of my colleagues don't. And this Congress does have authority. But what is really at stake here is the question of whether a law passed by the city council of the District of Columbia should be allowed to go into effect or overwritten by action here. My view is that the elected representatives have the right and the responsibility to pass laws that go with being a self-governing city council. The question of the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act--that is what we are talking about--was passed by the city council. It is the will of the representatives of the people of this city, through their representatives, to allow this to happen. This initiative has been something that has been taken up by other local governments in other States, where the prerogative is to make their own laws with respect to voting. And I believe that the District of Columbia should have that ability to pass these laws without interference from Congress. Now, this was challenged in court. In March, the U.S. District Court for DC dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022.…”