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Contact:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator
202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
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Greens demand D.C. self-government, not Norton's
sham representation scheme
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The 'No Taxation Without Representation' bill
distracts from the goal of D.C. democracy
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Federal tax exemption will turn D.C. into a haven
for tax dodgers -- and drive out D.C. residents
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Reacting to the annual
Lobby Day visits to congressional offices on Wednesday, May 15
organized in support of D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's "No
Taxation Without Representation" bill, D.C. Statehood Green
Party members urge Representatives and Senators to reject the bill
and instead end Congress's anti-democratic rule by granting the
District self-government.
"Ms. Norton's bill is a sham," said Adam Eidinger, candidate
for the D.C. Statehood Green Party's nomination for D.C. 'Shadow'
U.S. Representative to Congress. "All this energy and activity
is being wasted on representation and a bill which would drive out
many D.C. residents, and which would not afford D.C. the democracy
we deserve."
D.C. Statehood Greens list numerous objections to Norton's House bill,
a companion Senate version of which is co-sponsored by Sen. Joseph
Lieberman (D - Ct):
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Norton's bill would create a tax haven in D.C.
and displace hundreds of thousands of poor and middle class
residents from their homes to make way for tax dodgers.
Property values, property taxes, and rent would skyrocket.
Many D.C. residents glad to have a tax break the first year will
find themselves priced out of their homes the second year.
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The recent dismissal of public school teacher Tom
Briggs for violating a Hatch Act rule that prohibits D.C.
teachers (but not teachers in the 50 states) from seeking
public office shows that the real problem is Congress's power
over District legislation, against which D.C. voting rights
in Congress would have no effect. Congress regularly imposes
laws and reduces D.C. budget proposals for jobs, housing, and
education (including UDC) in favor of money for a baseball
stadium, a new convention center, and other boondoggles.
Congress also overruled a 1998 D.C. voters' ballot
measure, Initiative 59, which would have allowed marijuana to
alleviate the symptoms of serious illness.
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Because the federal income tax structure is more
progressive than the District's, Norton's bill will primarily
benefit wealthy residents. If federal exemption were granted it
could thus be used to deny the District federal help, including
its fair and obligated federal payment. "Norton's bill is
just another path to a very unwholesome solution that augments
and buttresses the position of the wealthy power elite,"
said Statehood Green activist Edward Troy.
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Norton's bill proposes a tradeoff of democratic
rights for money. It proposes an exemption for D.C. residents
from federal income taxes if voting representation is not
granted by Congress -- an exchange of human rights for monetary
compensation.
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Norton's bill would divert public support for a
full and fair court hearing of the '20 Citizens' lawsuit (Adams
v. Bush), which seeks constitutional rights for D.C. residents,
including political self-determination. (Since the 20 Citizens
lawsuit was dismissed without comment by the U.S. Supreme
Court, its grievances can still be pursued legally.)
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Statehood Greens urge District residents, before
Sen. Lieberman's hearing on the bill scheduled for May 23 in
the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, to contact
Congress members and ask that they say no to Norton's bill, and
instead begin working on legislation to give D.C. citizens
their full constitutional rights through self-government.
"Representation for D.C. will require a 2/3
majority vote for an amendment to the Constitution, and will not
provide us the right to determine our own laws," said Dean
Murville, who helped coordinate the Global Petition for D.C.
Statehood and Human Rights <http://petition.dcstatehoodgreen.org>
that was launched in February at the World Social Forum in Porto
Alegre, Brazil. "Statehood, on the other hand, requires a
simple majority vote, the same way other states joined the union,
and will give us full legislative and budget autonomy, as well as
two Senators and one Representative."
"In other words, it would be more difficult for
D.C. to win only representation, as Ms. Norton prefers, than to win
both statehood and representation. The 'No Taxation Without
Representation' bill delays, defers, and distracts Congress from
the real goal -- democracy, which is only possible through
self-determination and self-governance, giving us the option to
become a state."
Statehood Greens note that Ms. Norton ordered D.C. residents
lobbying congressional offices on Lobby Day not to mention
anything other than representation and her "No Taxation
Without Representation" bill.
MORE INFORMATION
The D.C. Statehood Green Party http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
1314 18th Street, NW, lower level, Washington, DC 20036, 202-296-1301
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