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6 UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRIcr OF COLUMBIA LAW REVIEWIt seems clear that if the people of the District of Columbia are to be treated thesame as all other American citizens - placed on equal footing - ultimately, theConstitutional path to that end is Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, relating to theadmission of new states.B. The Current SituationThose residing in Washington, D.C. lack political standing and sovereignty.No other citizens are similarly situated. District residents cannot vote for senatorsor representatives; although they do vote for a non-voting delegate to theHouse. 28 No matter the population, citizens entitled to only as many electors tothe Electoral College as the least populous state. 29 As a result, the District'srepresentation does not correspond with its population. Moreover, while theHome Rule Act 30 gave District residents the right to vote for a local electedgovernment, Congress placed such severe restraints on that right, that some referto the Act as "Home Fool.,,31 Others liken District residents to Native Americans,commenting that with Home Rule, District residents were given "the reservationwithout the buffalo. ,,32 This label is particularly poignant at times whenthe District government seeks to manage and conduct its financial affairs. Congressmust pass an appropriations bill for the District, as it does for every federalagency. Thus, from local budget formulation to implementation the process cantake as many as eighteen months. 33 The form and structure of the District makes28 District of Columbia Delegate Act, Pub. L. No. 91-405, 84 Stat. 845 (1970).29 u.S. CONST. amend. XXIII, § 1 ("The District constituting the seat of Government of theUnited States shaU appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors ofPresident and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congressto which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populousState ... "). Id.30 District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, Pub. L. No.93-198,87 Stat. 774 (1973) (codified as D.C. Code § 1-221 (1973», renamed "The Home Rule Act" aspart of The District of Columbia Revitalization Act, ntle XI of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997,Pub. L. No. 105-33, 111 Stat. 251 (1997) .31 See The District of Columbia Revitalization Act, ntle XI of the Balanced Budget Act of1997, Pub. L. No. 105-33, III Stat. 251 (1997). Also referred to and recently formally renamed as the"Home Rule Act," its stated purpose is, in part, "to the greatest extent possible ... relieve Congressof the burden of legislating upon essentially local District matters." Id. at § 102(A). The Act providesfor a locally elected Mayor and thirteen-member D.C. Council. Id. at §§ 401(A), 421(A). As is clear,however, Congress really did not relieve itself of the burden of legislating on local matters.32 See If You Favor Freedom, supra note 3. This document was produced at the introduction ofH.R. 51, a D.C. Statehood Bill.33 Under the Home Rule Act, Congress can exercise a Line Item veto and thereby considerseach expenditure the District proposes to make. District of Columbia Self-Government and GovernmentalReorganization Act, Pub. L. No. 93-198, 87 Stat. 774 (1973) (codified as D.C. Code § 1-221(1973».
TOWARDS EQUAL FOOTING 7it very different from any state and makes it difficult to conduct an efficientgovernment. 34District of Columbia citizenship is particularly diluted when democracy istested. Had Congress decided the Bush-Gore presidential contest and the Floridavote in 2000, District residents would have had no vote in that vital process?5They had no vote when Congress passed the Patriot Act. 36 District citizens alsohad no vote when decisions were made to involve America in Iraq. District residentsshoulder all the duties of citizenship, including paying federal taxes, andfighting and dying in wars, but they do not share in all the fruits of citizenship.37Moreover, they have performed both of those responsibilities, paying taxes andfighting in wars, at higher rates than much of the rest of the country. This blighton America exists notwithstanding the fact that Americans living in the Districtof Columbia pay taxes,38 as well as fought and died in every war since the AmericanRevolution?9 Additionally, while over 95 percent of the District's localbudget is from local tax dollars, the federal government controls the entirebudget. 4o Congress has the power to enact local laws on the District and has finalsay over any laws passed by the local government. 41 Controlling the budget andlaws epitomizes "Taxation Without Representation.,,4234 See Jd. In a recent D.C. Appropriations Bill, Congress placed as many as seventy limitationson the District of Columbia's ability to spend its own money. See District of Columbia AppropriationsAct, S. 1446, 109th Congo (2006). Some of those limitations, such as not using federal funds to pay forabortions or banning needle exchange programs, are placed every year in D.C. appropriations bills.Whatever the limitation, the citizens of other states are not similarly bridled.35 Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, The Electoral College, http://clerk.house.gov/arChistorylhouse_history/electoral.html (last visited Nov. 9, 2(09).In the case of an Electoral College deadlock or if no candidate receives the majority of votes, a'contingent election' is held. The election of the President goes to the House of Representatives.Each state delegation casts one vote for one of the top three contenders to determine a winner.[d.36 Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Interceptand Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-56, 115 Stat. 272 (2001) (codifiedthroughout the United States Code).37 Federal taxation was implemented through U.S. CONST. amend. XVI; the first draft was implementedthrough the Selective Service Act, Pub. L. No. 65-12, 40 Stat. 76 (1917).38 District of Columbia Appropriations Act of 2005, Pub. L. 108-335, 108th Congo (2004).39 See JfYou Favor Freedom, supra, note 3, at 1-5 (providing a good, non-technical examinationof many of the issues surrounding D.C. Statehood).40 See section 603 of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental ReorganizationAct. Congress through this section controls "the borrowing, spending and budgetary process ... "for the District of Columbia. Jason I. Newman & Jacques B. DePuy, Bringing Democracy to theNation's Last Colony: The District of Columbia Self-Government Act, 24 AM. U. L. REV. 537, 550(1975).41 See CONSTANCE McLAUGHLIN GREEN, WASHINGTON: A HISTORY OF THE CAPITAL, 1800-1950 (1962).42 DANIEL A. SMITH, TAX CRUSADERS AND THE POLITICS OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY 21-23(1998). The statement, "Taxation without representation is tyranny," was a rallying cry that helped to
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BRINGING HOME THE BACON: A TWO·PRO
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APPEALING TO THE LEGISLATURE: A COM
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MISSING IN ACTION:PRISONERS OF WAR
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MISSING IN ACfION 157provide humane
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MISSING IN ACTION 159quantity, qual
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MISSING IN ACfION 161tion of the ca
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MISSING IN ACI10N 163rently in the
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MISSING IN ACfION 165Rasul v. Bush.
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MISSING IN ACTION 167missions. ,,91
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MISSING IN ACfION 169The Supreme Co
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MISSING IN ACfION 171constitute a c
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MISSING IN ACTION 173Court has open
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MISSING IN ACfION 175sel. But, the
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MISSING IN ACTION 177posed, efforts
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