Question 39
Which of these statements about residents of Washington, DC is false? (Assume that all DC residents were born in DC.)
DC residents are US citizens.
DC residents pay federal taxes.
DC residents are represented in Congress.
DC residents serve in the US Armed Forces.
DC residents are US citizens.
DC residents pay federal taxes.
DC residents are represented in Congress.
DC residents serve in the US Armed Forces.
posted by Crab Rangoon at 2:43 AM
4 Comments:
I thought you were wrong on this one (DC does have a representitive in the house of representatives... thus Congress) so I looked it up. Appearently their representitive is a Non-voting member... thus they really do not have representation in congress (like you said)
I guess Learn some new every day.
Although DC residents are US citizens, pay the same taxes as every other American, serve in the US military, and the District of Columbia has a larger population than Wyoming, DC has no vote in Congress.
What it does have is a non-voting "delegate". Since 1991 that's been Eleanor Holmes Norton. Four other entities have non-voting delegates to the House: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. However, people in those places do not pay US taxes, and with the exception of Puerto Rico, they have far fewer people than DC. Since 2002 or so, DC's license plates thus bear the slogan "Taxation Without Representation".
In addition, DC elects a "shadow" delegation of Congress members. These are not members of Congress. They have offices funded by the District of Columbia, and their main function is to lobby for DC statehood or representation in Congress. The more recently admitted states also elected shadow congressional delegations before they became states, with the understanding that as soon as they were admitted to the union, their shadow Representative and Senators would become the new state's delegation. Thus, DC's Shadow Representative would interestingly replace Delegate Norton as the city's representative to the House.
There have been efforts to restore DC congressional representation for decades, and they've gained some momentum in recent years. A 1993 House vote on making DC a state failed soundly, but Norton and House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) are pushing a bill that would expand the House to 437 members, giving DC a seat and Utah another. Utah barely missed getting another House seat after the 2000 census, and the idea is that this wouldn't change the party balance of the House. The bill passed the Government Reform Committee and is pending in James Sensenbrenner's House Judiciary Committee, where its fate is uncertain. The bill may gain momentum in coming years though. Senate representation for DC seems to be further off.
DC Vote is a key organization pushing for DC representation in Congress.
I forgot to note that DC's two shadow senators are only elected to four year terms. I don't know why this is, but they are the only congressional positions with a four year term.
The Delegate from D.C. does vote in committee.
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