DC Voting Rights Killed, Payday Loans Capped

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate killed DC voting rights Tuesday, while DC City Councilmembers overwhelmingly approved caps on predatory payday loans. In what Metro Council President Jos Williams called "an appalling act of political dishonesty and moral bankruptcy," the DC Voting Rights Act fell short by three votes Tuesday afternoon when Republicans blocked the Senate from taking up the D.C. vote bill, "dealing a major blow to the District's most promising effort in years to get a full member of Congress," reported Mary Beth Sheridan in The Washington Post. "Ain't no democracy in this capitol," an obviously disappointed Ann Hoffman - a longtime DC democracy and labor activist -- told UNION CITY moments after the vote. "But there's no question of giving up; we're not going home because we're already home!" Added DC Vote Outreach Director Eugene Kinlow, "We're disappointed but not dismayed or deterred from redoubling our efforts to secure voting rights for the residents of the District of Columbia. The question is not if we'll win voting rights, but when."Although no official next steps have yet been planned by DC Vote, Hoffman says "there's already discussion of a funeral cortege for DC democracy." Earlier in the day, the DC City Council voted 12-1 (Marion Barry was the sole "no" vote) Tuesday in favor of the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act. The Act reels in predatory loansharking in the District by capping interest rates on short-term, payday loans. This is “a resounding and thorough victory for the city's working families," said Mackenzie Baris of DC Jobs with Justice, which worked with DC ACORN, Plymouth United Congregational Church, the Metro Council, and other allies to pass the bill.