Congress could end 'taxation without representation' in D.C.

Ilir Zherka says he's sick of being treated like he's a second-class citizen.

A U.S. citizen, Zherka works and pays taxes. But, like all the other residents of the nation's capital, no one is representing him in Congress.

Thanks to years of work by activists, that could change.

Congress is considering a bill that would give District of Columbia residents, for the first time, a voting seat in the House of Representatives. The DC House Voting Rights Act could come up for a vote in the House soon, more than a year after the passage of a companion bill in the Senate in 2009.

“This is our best chance,” said Zherka, president of DC Vote, a non-profit dedicated to the issue.

Zherka said he hopes the House will vote on the bill before the November elections.

“Even though it is supposed to be a place of democracy, Washington, D.C., is the only capital in the world where people are preventing from voting for their representatives,” said Carolyn Lamm, president of American Bar Association. “This is incredible!”

Close to 600,000 residents -- more than the population of Wyoming -- have been denied the right to vote for senators or representatives for the past 200 years because they live in the federal capital. The U.S. Constitution grants congressional voting representation only for American citizens living in states.

“D.C. was created to be a non-state,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at the George Washington University. “This was a clear will of the framers.”

As result, “Washingtonians have no voice in the Congress," Lamm said.

Currently, the District is entitled to a delegate who is not allowed to vote on the floor of the House.

The District of Columbia struggles with a “colonialist system,” Zherka said. Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress provides a review of both local laws and budget.

“In the capital of the free world, guess what? People here are not free,” Zherka said. “We pay taxes but we have to wait for the Congress to act on budget. This is an absurdity!”

Washingtonians have managed to extend their voting rights. Before 1961, D.C. residents weren't allowed to vote in presidential elections. Since 1973, they've been able to elect a mayor and council members.

The time may be ripe for more changes.

“This bill is fully consistent with U.S. Constitution," Lamm said.

Turley disagrees.

“I support full D.C. residents’ representation at the Congress, but not the violation of Constitution,” Turley said.

Only states are allowed seats in both chambers, according to the Constitution, Turley said. Even if the bill passed in the House, it could be struck down by the Supreme Court, he said.

“The problem with this bill is that both the U.S. Constitution is ignored and controversial political compromises are accepted," he said.

The DC Voting Rights Act, which was introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton, D-D.C., contains an additional seat for Republican-leaning Utah, so as not to disturb the balance of power. U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., recently added an amendment to make it easier for D.C. residents to carry firearms.

Like Holmes-Norton, DC Vote protests that amendment but the price is not too high for the American Bar Association.

“It might be regrettable but this is a part of reality," Lamm said. "Sometimes we have to compromise."

The Holmes-Norton bill is an example of path dependence, according to Turley.

“Because so much time and money have been spent to defend a cause, people can’t consider any other alternative," Turley explained.

But there are other options, he said.

Zherka doesn’t believe that ending taxation of DC residents is the solution. Like Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia could neither have to pay taxes nor be allowed to vote for Congress.

“We are not trying to have less obligation," Zherka said. “It is not about money, it is about civil rights.”

Such a bill would be rejected, Turley said. The framers considered the District of Columbia to be already represented by Congress, so D.C. residents should pay taxes, he said.

One untested option is retrocession, which would integrate the city into Maryland. That's the easiest way to obtain a congressional vote, while still being consistent with the Constitution, according to Turley.

Zherka disapproves. Thousands of laws would need to be changed, he said.

That's not necessarily so, Turley said.

If Maryland takes the district, Washington could incorporate Maryland local laws but it would not have to. In that event, the District of Columbia could integrate in areas that would benefit the district, he said. For example, he added, the public school system is generally better in Maryland.

Maryland could let Washington be an independent city and grant the district a special status, such as Hong Kong in China. Another approach is to limit the federal capital to the National Mall, where there are no residents, and call the rest of the current city Washington, Md.

“All these are legal, now the problem is political”, Turley said.

Yet retrocession remains an unlikely solution. Neither people from Maryland nor from district support the idea, Zherka said.

“They don’t want to lose their identity," he said.

The ultimate goal of DC Vote is to turn Washington, D.C., into the 51st state. But statehood isn't on the agenda at the moment. A majority still doesn’t like the idea of one city becoming a state, Turley said.

Zherka admitted that his group doesn't have enough support.

If the bill pass and D.C. is provided a seat in the House, DC Vote will move forward with "the final step," Zherka promised.

They will need U.S. President Barack Obama's support to change the U.S. Constitution and federal capital status. Leaders of DC Vote said they are currently disappointed by Obama.

"He can be more helpful", said Zherka, who invites Obama to use a "Taxation without Representation" license plate, as former President Bill Clinton did on his limousine.

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http://www.upi.com/Features/Culture_Society/2010/06/01/Congr ess-could-end-taxation-without-representation-in-DC/12754037577614/

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