No More Excuses

Democrats are poised to lead Congress to a full vote in the People’s House that D.C. residents have sought for two centuries.  Sensing the possibility of victory for H.R. 328, opponents have released a report that Kenneth Thomas did for the Congressional Research Service (but not an official CRS opinion), doubting the bill’s constitutionality.  It is too little, it is late and it is wrong.  Two conservative scholars, former Judge Kenneth Starr and Professor Viet Dinh, former Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy under Bush, gave detailed testimony at hearings that the bill is constitutional.  Those interested in the constitutional issue, the last refuge of opponents to the bill, should go to my website or DC Vote’s website for the testimony.  Because the Utah-District pairing in H.R. 328 removes all partisan concerns, the bill’s opponents have run out of excuses for taking D.C. taxes and the lives of residents in Iraq without a vote.  Opponents are driven to the constitutional excuse, a canard used so often that it doesn’t keep bills from being passed.  Congress has always understood that the legislative branch’s job is to pass bills after all the issues have been vetted.  There will be time enough for opponents to challenge the bill in the courts that alone decide constitutional issues.  Undaunted, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Council Chair Vincent Gray and hundreds of residents and elected officials recently came to the House for a Congress Day rally and congressional visits.  No more excuses.  The only question for the House now is which side are you on — for the vote for all Americans or not?