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Norton Requests a Lincoln Bicentennial Date in February for House Passage of the D.C. Voting Rights Act December 5, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi requesting an early vote on the D.C. Voting Rights Act. Although Norton's office was in touch with the offices of the leaders of both the House and the Senate immediately following the Nov. 4th elections, she used her letter to pass on the suggestion of Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, that a date close to February 12th, the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the NAACP's founding, would be especially appropriate. "We fully understand the weight of the unprecedented issues that confront you and the new Congress. However, we believe that with an even larger Democratic majority here and in the Senate, and a party committed to this issue in its platform, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act should be an easy, bipartisan vote in both the House and Senate," Norton said in the letter. The Congresswoman's District of Columbia Voting Rights Act passed the House in 2007 and came within three votes of the 60 votes required in the Senate. Now, with seven of the Republican senators who opposed her bill replaced by Democrats, Norton expects Senate passage. She said the national D.C. voting rights coalition also is pressing for an early vote and cited the Veteran's Day rally held by DC Vote in her letter. The Congresswoman is particularly encouraged by her conversations during the primaries with President-elect Barack Obama, who cosponsored the bill in the Senate. The D.C. City Council also continues its leadership role by sending a letter this week to President-elect Barack Obama, asking him to use D.C.'s "Taxation without Representation," license plates on his presidential limousine as he rides down Pennsylvania Avenue in the inauguration parade after being sworn in.
December 4, 2008 BY MAIL AND FAX The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House H-232 U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Madam Speaker: We are deeply grateful to you for scheduling a prompt vote in the 110th Congress on H.R. 1905, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007. Your leadership assured early passage of the bill in the House, and we came within three votes of passage in the Senate. However, President-elect Obama co-sponsored the bill in the Senate, and we now count more than 60 votes there. We hope you will consider an early vote in the 111th Congress. We also have asked Majority Leader Harry Reid for an early vote. We believe that the vote granting voting representation in the House to 600,000 American citizens in the nation's capital will be one of the reasons the 111th Congress will be most remembered. As you can imagine, we are receiving inquiries almost daily about House voting rights from both the local and national press. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, DC Vote and other coalition members have continued their work nationwide for D.C. voting rights. Already, on Veterans Day this year, the coalition has sponsored a large rally in support of voting rights in anticipation of the upcoming session. We fully understand the weight of the unprecedented issues that confronts you and the new Congress. However, we believe that with an even larger Democratic majority here and in the Senate, and a party committed to this issue in its platform, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act should be an easy, bipartisan vote in both the House and Senate. Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights has suggested that the House vote be scheduled close to February 12, 2008, the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the NAACP's founding. February is also Black History Month. We cannot think of a more appropriate way to celebrate these milestones than to grant the people of the District of Columbia the equal voting rights they have been denied for more than 200 years. Thank you again for your strong and consistent support throughout.
Sincerely, Eleanor Holmes Norton
Cc: Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer Majority Whip James E. Clyburn Democratic Caucus Chair John B. Larson Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Xavier Becerra |
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