In The Washington Post, several Congressmen argue that although the Constitution says that Congressmen and Senators must represent “states,” it does not really mean what it says, and that Congress therefore can give the District of Columbia a voting member of the House of Representatives.
Not troubled by inconsistency, they simultaneously argue that the District should be given a seat in the House, because they claim it is like a “state for constitutional purposes,” and yet claim that doing so would not establish a precedent that could be used to give the District a vote in the Senate, where the Constitution guarantees each state two Senators.
They don’t explain why Washington, D.C., which has only 500,000 residents (much less than the typical Congressional district), is entitled to a Congressman, while Puerto Rico, which has four million people, is not.
I have previously explained why there are serious problems with the bill, both in terms of fairness and because of its unconstitutionality.
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{ 2 comments }
While you are mentioning un- and under-represented Americans, don't forget those who live in the other territories–The Virgin Islands, American Samoa and The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Also, the U.S. colony of Guam (it is not a territory but a possession of the U.S. and according to the U.N. one of the last colonies on earth) remains the only substantially populated American soil to be conquered by a foreign power. Thousands of Guamanians were enslaved and executed by the Japanese for being pro-American. Per-capita, more Americans from Guam were killed in Viet Nam than any other state or territory, and the same will be true of our current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Don’t these fiercely loyal Americans deserve to be considered full citizens of the U.S.?
Hey genious,
The difference between DC and Puerto Rico is that the people of Puerto Rico don't pay Federal taxes. DC residents pay one of the highest levels of Federal income tax in the nation. Regardless of how DC is granted voting representation in Congress, whether through statute or through constitutional amendment, how can you argue on moral grounds that citizens of this country that pay taxes and send their children to war on behalf of this country do not deserve voting representation in Congress. Your callousness is shocking.
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