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

I thank my colleague for yielding. I am going to support the bill at hand because it is the only way we can im* plement what we just did. I want to thank my friends on the other side. I know this is a complex rule. It is unfortunate we had to go through the machinations we did to get where we are. but this was a hisbric vote today as we propel legislation along the great ark of our Nations history as the worlds most vibrant experiment in representative democracy. Two hundred six years ago this month. Thomas Jefferson became the first President to take his oath in what was called the Federal City here in Washington. But through the confluence of circumstances and accident. the great compromise that birthed our Constitution and put the Nations Capital here also produced a grotesque injustice we have so far been unable to right. Today is a time -for another great compromise. The capital of the free world doesnt provide full voting representation for residents. In fact. that has been true for too long. but today we have started the process of correcting an unhappy legacy left by the first Congresses. I have discovered over the last 4 years that there are substantial myths surrounding the founding of Washington. DC. so I want to take a few minutes today to lay .out the facts of how the city became what it is. The idea for a Federal district arose out of an incident that took place in 1783 while the Continental Congress was in session in Philadelphia. When a crowd of Revolutionary War soldiers who had not been paid gathered to protest outside the building. the Continental Congress requested help from the Pennsylvania militia. The State refused. and the Congress was forced to adjourn and reconvene in New Jersey. After that incident. the Framers concluded there was a need for a Federal district under solely Federal control for the protection of the Congress and for the territorial integrity of the capital. So the Framers gave Congress broad authority to create such a Federal district and broad authority to govern such a place. That is the limit of what the Framers say about a Federal district in the Constitution. that there should be one. and that it should be under congressional authority. EJ 1530 After ratification of the Constitution. one of the first issues to face the new Congress was where to place the Federal District. Some wanted it in New York. Others wanted it in Philadelphia. And others wanted it near George Washingtons home on the Potomac. These sectional factions fought a fierce political battle to decide the matter because they believed they were founding a great city. a new Rome. They expected this new city to have all the benefits of the great capitals of Europe. They never once talked about denying that citys inhabitants the right to vote. Finally. Jefferson brokered a deal that allowed the city to be placed on the banks of the Potomac in exchange for Congress paying the Revolutionary War debt. New York got the debt paid. Philadelphia got the capital for 10 years. Then. as now. those political decisions were shaped by the issues of the day. In 1790. Congress passed the Residence Act in which the right to vote was given to those residing in the new District. But while the capital was being established. those living here were permitted to continue to vote where they had before. in their States. on the Maryland side in Maryland. on the Virginia side of the District in Virginia. The seat of government officially moved in 1800. In his final address to the Sixth Congress. less thazi a week after it took up residence in the new Federal District. President John Adams reminded Members. "It is with you. gentlemen. to consider whether local powers over the" District of Columbia vested by the Constitution in Congress shall be immediately exercised." That one statement explains the nature of the debate to follow. Once again. the issues of the day shaped the actions of Congress. The political parties couldnt come to *an agreement. Imagine that. The Federalists wanted to ensure a strong central control over the city. AntiFederalist Republicans wanted to limit authority and distrusted all things urban. With Jefferson and his Republicans preparing to take control of the Presidency and Congress. a pervasive atmosphere of crisis compelled the Federalists into action. If a bill was not passed before Jefferson took over. it would never pass. Eventually. the Congress passed a strippeddown version of a bill authored by Virginia Congressman "Light Horse Harry" Lee. It simply_ stated that the laws of Virginia and Maryland then in effect. having been superseded in the District. would still apply. We may- never know why this version was passed because no records survived. but there is absolutely no evidence the Founding Fathers. who had just put their lives on the line to forge a representative government. then decided the only way to secure .that government was to deny representation to some of their fellow citizens. One historian aptly described the process as a "rushed and improvised accommodation to political reality. necessitated by the desperate logic of lameduck political maneuvering." But the inelegant compromise ultimately adopted left a decidedly undemocratic accident in its wake. District residents had no votes in Congress. This wasnt. and is not. merely a quirk of history that affects very few people. The problem affects the very reputation of our entire Nation. Foreign visitors I have met comment with puzzlement on the lack -of voting representation in the Nations Capital. I heard it from the mayor of Hong Kong when we were discussing his relationship with China. Over the next few weeks and as this moves to the other body. we have to agree on this principle. So we have taken important action today. Our very practical Founding Fathers left us a tool in the Constitution to .deal with future problems. The District Clause in the Constitution. article I. section 8. clause 17. is there for a reason. Congress reaches its zenith of power in dealing with issues relating to the District. Over the years. Congress has exercised its power to treat the District as a State when necessary. to ensure that the citizens of the city have substantially the same rights as all other Americans. Surely Members should resolve any difference of opinion they may have in favor of our authority to use that plenary power to provide residents with full voting representation. Scholars spanning its political and legal spectrum have concluded. as I do. that Congress has authority through this legislation to provide voting representation in Congress for local residents. What was done by statute in 1790. and then undone by statute in 1800. can be redone by statute today. This is often called the "Peoples House." and rightly so. Article I. section 2. sets forth that "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the several States." That same language. "People of the several States." among the several States. is why the District of Columbia pays Federal taxes. even though it applies to people of the several States. The sixth amendments rIght to trial by jury. even though it says that it will be an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall be committed. has been applied to the District. Prohibiting district .laws which interfere with interstate commerce among the several States. Congress has applied that to the District of Columbia and the courts have upheld it. Treat the District as a State for purposes of full faith and credit. That talks about States and the Constitution. But under the District clause. we have included the District of Columbia. Grant people who live in the District the ability to sue people. Diversity of jurisdiction again applies to States. between citizens of different States under the Constitution. but under the District clause we have applied that by statute. This body has taken an historic step today. I want to thank my colleagues who worked toward this. intluding my good friend from Pennsylvania. Mr. ENGLISH. who supported this. But to continue this. we need to support the issue at hand. the bill that is currently on the floor under the PAYGO legislation. It is kind of a jurisdictional morass. but I urge my colleagues to support it.