NCJW Urges Immediate Enactment of the DC House Voting Rights Act

May 8, 2007, New York, NY -- The Board of Directors of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) issued the following statement supporting full congressional voting rights for the District of Columbia (DC):

"With passage in the House of Representatives of the 'DC House Voting Rights Act,' progress is finally being made toward granting voting representation in Congress for the citizens of our nation's capital. The National Council of Jewish Women has long supported fair voting laws, polices, and practices to ensure that every vote counts. For too long, the votes of the people of the District of Columbia have not counted in Congress where DC is represented by a non-voting delegate.

"Although DC residents contribute $5 billion in taxes to the national treasury and have sent more than 192,000 residents to fight in our nation's wars, they have had no say in their national government. In contrast, however, Congress holds an absolute veto on how the District of Columbia government spends its own locally raised taxes. The US is the only country among those that define themselves as a democracy that denies representation to the residents of its capital city.

"The bill recently passed by the House which would add a representative for DC and an additional representative for Utah is the most promising solution to date. NCJW urges the Senate to act quickly to pass this bill and calls on the President to sign the bill in the interest of fairness and democratic values."

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide.

Contact: 
Debbie Stillman 
202 296 2588 x2; debbie@ncjwdc.org