In 1993, in only her second term in Congress, Eleanor convinced Speaker Tom Foley to allow her a two-day debate and vote on her statehood bill.
She was able to get almost two-thirds of the Democrats and one Republican to vote for statehood.
The Congresswoman did not expect to win statehood on her first try. However, after the strong vote, she planned move to get some of the most important elements of statehood, particularly budget and legislative autonomy.
However, a few months after the statehood vote, the District became insolvent. Thereafter, in order to fully recover, local officials asked the federal government to assume some of the state costs the city had always assumed.
When the District again takes on these costs - a distinct possibility considering the city's improving economy - it will again be in a position to press ahead for statehood. The Constitution requires that all states assume all state costs in order to qualify for admission to the union.
The District's tax paying status - second per capita among the states - and its service in every war since the Revolutionary War, qualifies the city for full voting rights in the House and Senate.
Congresswoman Norton in the House and Senator Joe Lieberman in the Senate, have introduced the "No Taxation Without Representation Act." The bill has not only had hearings in the House and Senate, but, in 2002 the bill was marked-up in committee and to the Senate floor.
Determined to make the denial of D.C. voting rights an international issue as D.C. residents serve in time of war, Norton sought and got an appointment to a 12-member U.S. delegation (six Democrats and six Republicans from the House and Senate) to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a respected international human rights body consisting of West and East European nations and the United States. She then introduced her provision for equal D.C. congressional voting rights and got it passed. The Republican delegates did not oppose her amendment. Norton asked the international delegates from 55 nations to "become messengers to the world," to help remedy the denial of democracy in "the capital of the free world" because most people in other countries, like most Americans, are unaware of this human rights violation.
Norton and three Republican House members sent a "Dear Colleague" letter reporting the results of a national D.C. Vote survey showing that 82% of Americans support equal voting rights for D.C. residents in the Senate and House - up 10 points in just five years. Besides Norton, the letter was signed by Representatives Tom Davis (VA), Ralph Regula (OH), Dana Rohrabacher (CA), the authors of three separate bills with different approaches to achieving voting rights. The Congresswoman said that the members are working together "to lay the groundwork that is necessary for voting rights to be taken seriously in the Congress."
Meanwhile, apart from her own bill, Norton has continued to work with any member of Congress who supports congressional voting rights in any form. She is working closest with Congressman Tom Davis, because his bill is consistent with hers in giving the District full voting rights, at least in the House. While the Congresswoman supports the Davis bill, there are many unresolved issues remaining for both Republicans and Democrats. Davis has told the press that he is "still a ways," from a mark-up because his staff is still working with the Utah delegation and because he needs to get more Republican support for his bill in the House. Norton also is working to assure that both Democrats and Republicans in Utah support the bill, the predicate to achieving bipartisan support in the House.
As Iraqis voted for the first time in historic elections, Norton and Senator Joe Lieberman appeared together at a news conference to reintroduce the "No Taxation without Representation Act," the only D.C. voting rights bill introduced in both the Senate and the House. Appearing with them was an Iraqi-born American and a D.C. veteran of the Iraq War, who asked for the same voting rights for D.C. residents as for Iraqi citizens. Norton also used the occasion of the first Iraq elections to stand with three D.C. residents who served in Iraq, as they asked the Speaker to return D.C.'s vote in the Committee of the Whole on the House floor. Norton won the vote that allowed D.C. a vote on almost all House floor business more than 10 years ago, but it was taken back by Republicans when they took control of the House. Norton said that the incremental step D.C. is likely to attain is this first-ever vote on the House floor because it can be returned by House rules.
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