Senate Begins Hearings on DC Voting Rights
Thursday, May 17, 2007
DC voting rights took another step forward Tuesday when
the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee began hearings
on the DC Voting Right Act. “This is a historic time for the citizens of the
District of Columbia,” said Senator Orrin Hatch (R., UT). “I intend to make
the most of it and hope that my fellow Senate colleagues will support me in this
endeavor.” Added former Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Housing
Secretary Jack Kemp, “White House advisors are putting the President of the
United States in the position of outspoken opposition to expanding the
democratic idea here in the nation's capital while simultaneously . . . [arguing
that] the President has the constitutional authority to defend freedom and
extend democratic rights to the people of Baghdad and Kabul,” After testimony
by seven witnesses, including DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes
Norton, and Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights,
Committee Chairman Senator Joe Lieberman announced that he plans to mark up the
bill in early June. Click here to
watch the hearing, read the testimony and get the latest on the campaign for DC
Voting Rights. April 16 DC Voting Rights March, photo from the
DCVote website
-Reported by Ann
Hoffman