I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1285
To provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2003
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for full voting representation in Congress for 
the citizens of the District of Columbia, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Taxation Without 
Representation Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The residents of the District of Columbia 
are the only Americans who pay Federal income
taxes but are denied voting representation in the 
House of Representatives and the Senate. 
(2) The residents of the District of Columbia 
suffer the very injustice against which our Founding 
Fathers fought, because they do not have voting rep-
resentation as other taxpaying Americans do and are 
nevertheless required to pay Federal income taxes 
unlike the Americans who live in the territories. 
(3) The principle of one person, one vote re-
quires that residents of the District of Columbia are 
afforded full voting representation in the House and 
the Senate. 
(4) Despite the denial of voting representation, 
Americans in the Nation’s Capital are second among 
residents of all States in per capita income taxes 
paid to the Federal Government. 
(5) Unequal voting representation in our rep-
resentative democracy is inconsistent with the found-
ing principles of the Nation and the strongly held 
principles of the American people today. 
SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS FOR DISTRICT OF 
COLUMBIA. 
For the purposes of congressional representation, the 
District of Columbia, constituting the seat of government 
of the United States, shall be treated as a State, such that
its residents shall be entitled to elect and be represented 
by 2 Senators in the United States Senate, and as many 
Representatives in the House of Representatives as a simi-
larly populous State would be entitled to under the law. 
SEC. 4. ELECTIONS. 
(a) FIRST ELECTIONS.—
(1) PROCLAMATION.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Mayor 
of the District of Columbia shall issue a proclama-
tion for elections to be held to fill the 2 Senate seats 
and the seat in the House of Representatives to rep-
resent the District of Columbia in Congress. 
(2) MANNER OF ELECTIONS.—The proclama-
tion of the Mayor of the District of Columbia re-
quired by paragraph (1) shall provide for the holding 
of a primary election and a general election and at 
such elections the officers to be elected shall be cho-
sen by a popular vote of the residents of the District 
of Columbia. The manner in which such elections 
shall be held and the qualification of voters shall be 
the same as those for local elections, as prescribed 
by the District of Columbia. 
(3) CLASSIFICATION
OF
SENATORS.—In the 
first election of Senators from the District of Colum-
bia, the 2 senatorial offices shall be separately iden-
tified and designated, and no person may be a can-
didate for both offices. No such identification or des-
ignation of either of the 2 senatorial offices shall 
refer to or be taken to refer to the terms of such 
offices, or in any way impair the privilege of the 
Senate to determine the class to which each of the 
Senators elected shall be assigned. 
(b) CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION.—The results of 
an election for the Senators and Representative from the 
District of Columbia shall be certified by the Mayor of 
the District of Columbia in the manner required by law 
and the Senators and Representative shall be entitled to 
be admitted to seats in Congress and to all the rights and 
privileges of Senators and Representatives of the States 
in the Congress of the United States. 
SEC. 5. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the date of enactment of 
this Act, the District of Columbia shall be entitled to 1 
Representative until the taking effect of the next reappor-
tionment. Such Representative shall be in addition to the 
membership of the House of Representatives as now pre-
scribed by law. 
(b) INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP OF HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES.—Upon the date of enactment of this Act, 
the permanent membership of the House of Representa-
tives shall increase by 1 seat for the purpose of future 
reapportionment of Representatives. 
(c) REAPPORTIONMENT.—Upon reapportionment, 
the District of Columbia shall be entitled to as many seats 
in the House of Representatives as a similarly populous 
State would be entitled to under the law. 
(d) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DELEGATE.—Until the 
first Representative from the District of Columbia is seat-
ed in the House of Representatives, the Delegate in Con-
gress from the District of Columbia shall continue to dis-
charge the duties of his or her office.
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