Norton Commemorated Anniversary of 23rd Amendment With Action Against Congressional Encroachment
Norton Commemorated 50th Anniversary of the 23rd Amendment With Action Against Congressional Encroachment on Local D.C. Affairs
March 30, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 23rd Amendment, which granted D.C. citizens votes for President and Vice President, by speaking at DC Vote's Senate Lobby Day yesterday, and introduced a congressional record statement on the 23rd Amendment. DC Vote chose the 50th anniversary of the 23rd Amendment to visit senators and urge them to vote against the three anti-home-rule amendments in the continuing resolution, which would ban the District from using its local taxpayer-raised funds for abortions for low-income women and for needle-exchange programs, and would reestablish the failed D.C. voucher program.
"The ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted D.C. citizens the right to vote for President and Vice President, was one of the early and most significant victories in the ongoing struggle of D.C. residents for equal rights and self-governance as American citizens," said Norton. "Unfortunately, the District remains the only capital in a democratic nation where citizens are denied full representation in the nation's legislature and are subject to the unwanted policy experimentation of outside lawmakers. We can only hope that the decision of Congress to support the Presidential and Vice Presidential votes for D.C. citizens will lead the way in freeing D.C. from continued congressional interference in local affairs and will afford our citizens the full equal rights that are centuries overdue."