DC’s push for a stronger voice in Congress continues

DC residents deserve a House of Representatives member that can actually vote, if for no other reason than that they pay more per capita to support the federal government than any other place in the US. That's according to DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who prompted a vote on the matter as soon as Congress started its new session last week.

While Norton can vote in her two committees' assignments (the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure), and is allowed to introduce bills and offer amendments in the Committee of the Whole, her role as a delegate to Congress is largely symbolic. However, in the past few terms, the Democrat-controlled House has granted Norton the right to vote on amendments in the Committee of the Whole.

Last week, when the new 115th Congress started, Holmes Norton moved for this to continue. The majority-Republican House voted against it.

According to Norton in the above interview with Fox 5, House Speaker Paul Ryan has supported DC getting this vote in the past, as have two federal courts.

At this point, Norton's hope is that the rest of the country will become more aware of the fact that DC has no say in Congress. She suggests that DC residents use the power of social media to enact the changes they want to see. Since the President-elect is so fond of this medium, maybe that isn’t such a bad suggestion.