Date: 2007-04-19
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Taxation Without Representation. the phrase that sparked this Nations revolution of independence. still fuels the aspirations of District residents. especially this week when they paid taxes to a Federal Government in which they are not fully represented. So this House once again considers b bill to correct this historical anomaly that leaves those living closest to the seat of our democracy without the. same rights as their fellow citizens living everywhere else in our vast Nation. We persist because the cause is right and patience a vice against longfestering injustice. Today. there is no need to repeat everything said 3 weeks ago. The history. the case law. the constitutional analysis have all been recited. We have heard from the opponents of this legislation who rely on a single argument championed by one very liberal constitutional lawyer. We counter with the studied opinions of two former Federal judges. including Judge Kenneth Starr. and 25 legal scholars from the best law schools in the country. including Viet Dinh. who. the Bush administration relied on to write the PATRIOT Act. Anyone who would have been moved by those arguments has already been persuaded. Instead. I want to focus on the moral imperative to act. even in the face of difficulty or doubt. A great man of letters once said: "Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." There will always be an excuse not to try. Refute one opposing argument. another sprouts like a weed. In this case. the scales of justice cannot be moved with weightless legal theories. The balance is tipped decidedly by the solid facts H3580 cc and heavy effects of disenfran chisement endured every day by those who live in the Natibns Capital. The people of the District of Columbia have served in every war this country has fought. Think about that for a second. These Americans bravely risked their lives. not to defend the freedoms they had. but to protect the promise of freedoms they hoped to have restored. They dutifully pay many millions of dollars in Federal taxes year in and year out. with absolutely no say in how that money may be spent. But these are the obvious sacrifices of living in the Federal City. The small daily contributions of this citys citizens should not be overlooked. District residents truly serve this Nation every day performing thousands of Federal jobs. But when this House votes on the shape. the size and the cost of that government. they are invisible. unseen and unheard in debates that affect their lives more directly than most. As .a Republican. I am not willing to bear the shame of failing to try to resolve this matter after 200 years. According to our partys own Web site. "The Republican Party was organized as an answer to the divided politics. political turmoil. argument and internal divisions. particularly over slavery. which plagued many political parties in 1854." Our first Presidential candidate. John C. Fremont. ran under a slogan: "Free soil. free labor. free speech. free men. Fremont." We exist as a party to increase representation and liberty in this country and in this world. This legislation is in the highest traditions of. this party thatfought for free speech. fought to abolish slavery. and fought to give women the right to vote. So I ask my Republican colleagues to see through the fog of armchair constitutional analysis and do the right thing. There is still time to cast a Republican vote. a vote to preserve our partys heritage and to vote to expand liberty. Opponents of this legislation will apologize that the Constitution wont allow them to do the good they wish they could do. I am sorry. but I cant accept that. At the end of the day. this is not an argument about what Congress can do. It is about what Congress is willing to do. Those of us who are supporting this bill are not nervous about its constitutionality. We are convinced that this Congress already has the authority we need to- expand freedom and libetty in this Nation. Might we be wrong? Possibly. The Supreme Court has never decided a case like this. But even if we are proven wrong. there is nobility in attempting to do the right thing. There is honor in acting. not just talking. to end injustice. To those still shackled by doubt. I offer -the words of Rqverend King: "Take the first step in faith. You dont have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." Take that step with me and pass this bill.